NEW YORK (TP): Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates expressed his disappointment on Donald Trump’s decision to end the DACA program and expressed hope that Congress will quickly pass a permanent fix so that hundreds of people do not get separated from their families, friends, and communities.

“I’m very disappointed with today’s decision to end DACA. Hundreds of thousands of young people who have been educated in the United States and have played by the rules their whole lives will be forced to live under the threat that they will be separated from their families, friends, and communities”, Gates wrote on a Facebook post.

“Melinda and I have been incredibly impressed by the Dreamers we have come across in our work with Microsoft, the foundation, and other programs we have supported over the years. They have been raised as Americans and have taken that responsibility seriously. Dreamers represent the best instincts of this country and the tradition that the great experiment of the United States is made better by people from other places coming here to dedicate their talents and commitment to continuing to move our country forward”, he further added.

“I hope that Congress will quickly pass a permanent fix to allow these young people to stay in the country without the destructive fear of deportation”, he wrote.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an American immigration policy established by the Obama administration in June 2012. DACA allows certain illegal immigrants who entered the country as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit.

The USICS has announced that they are no longer accepting initial requests for DACA, but will adjudicate initial requests for DACA accepted by Sept. 5, 2017. They will no longer approve advance parole requests associated with DACA. They are only adjudicating DACA renewal requests received by Oct. 5, 2017, from current beneficiaries whose benefits will expire between Sept. 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018.