In the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), former President Barack Obama published a statement on Facebook Tuesday that claimed DACA recipients were a “group of young people” that “pose no threat.”

Verdict: False

According to information from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), many DACA recipients are at or above the age of 25 and 1,500 have lost their deferred action due to a criminal conviction and/or gang affiliation.

Fact Check:

In his Facebook post, Obama argued that “Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn’t threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us.”

The claim that all DACA recipients are young people who pose no threat is false.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released data from August 2012  to September 2013 on “Characteristics of Individuals Requesting and Approved for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).”

In this 12-month period, 74,600 applicants between the age of 25-29 were accepted for DACA. The same report shows that 10,500 applicants 30 years or older were also approved. It is incorrect that all DACA recipients are “young people,” as Obama claimed.

In a press release from February of this year, DHS stated that “Since the start of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012, approximately 1,500 recipients have had their deferred action terminated due to a criminal conviction, gang affiliation, or a criminal conviction related to gang affiliation.”

While 1,500 is a small percentage of those under DACA, stating that DACA recipients “pose no threat” is false.

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