Several business groups are criticizing President Donald Trump's decision to revoke protections for nearly 800,000 children of undocumented immigrants, saying the move would harm the economy.

The Trump administration announced Tuesday it would rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gave children of illegal immigrants the ability to enroll in college and obtain jobs legally but stopped short of clearing a path to full citizenship, CNN reported. The Obama-era immigration policy was created largely because inaction by Congress on the issue. http://cnn.it/2f30zaH

Many business groups supported DACA as a step toward greater immigration reform, noting that many of the people affected—called "dreamers"—were already working and providing valuable skills and labor to U.S. employers.

"Preserving DACA is the right thing to do," said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association. "It also gives Congress an impetus to pass a humane immigration law that attracts and enables the world's best and brightest to innovate, build companies, create jobs and drive economic growth in the United States. Dreamers are an important part of this equation."

"Whether you agree with DACA or not, ending it without anything to replace it creates unnecessary uncertainty for our economy and for almost 800,000 young people in this country who have passed background checks, paid fees, and are contributing to our economy, pursuing their studies or even serving in our military," TechNet CEO Linda Moore said.

Javier Palomarez, CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, announced Tuesday that he had resigned from Trump's National Diversity Committee because of the DACA decision and other actions by the president.

"An American president who does not believe there's a place for young people whose passion and values exemplify the best of our tradition is simply not a president that I can continue to support," Palomarez said in a New York Times op-ed. http://nyti.ms/2eFXyg1

Association leaders urged Congress to pass a permanent fix for the country's "broken immigration system."

"Business Roundtable supports solutions that better secure U.S. borders, provide consistent enforcement of laws and encourage immigrants to come to the United States legally, work hard and contribute to America," BRT CEO Joshua Bolten said. "Congressional leaders should develop a legislative solution that ensures our system is secure and fair, while also meeting America's economic needs."

Terminating DACA "runs contrary to the president's goal of growing the U.S. economy," U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley said.

Jay Timmons, CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said the solution to fixing the immigration system is not sending children raised in the U.S. "off to a different country."

"Our communities and our economy are made stronger by the bold ideas and amazing talents that people looking for a better life bring to America," Timmons said. "Throughout our history, immigration has strengthened and advanced the core principles that make America exceptional: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity."

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