Be clear — not cruel — on rules for Dreamers

Details about the circumstances in Calexico in February in which Juan Manuel Montes Bojorquez, 23, was either deported or denied entry to the United States remain in dispute.

In a federal lawsuit, Montes says he was deported and argues that never should have happened because of his acceptance in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program established by the Obama administration to give some legal protections to young unauthorized immigrants who have clean or mostly clean legal records and are leading productive lives. The Department of Homeland Security says he’s not telling the truth and that his DACA status didn’t entitle him to leave the United States without advance permission and then try to sneak back in by climbing a border fence.

Whatever the actual details of the Montes case, the Trump administration and the nation would be well-served if immigration authorities offered explicit guidelines on the circumstances in which the million-plus young immigrants known colloquially as “Dreamers” will face deportation.

Belying his reputation as an immigration hard-liner, President Donald Trump in February called individuals enrolled in DACA “these incredible kids.” But others in his administration don’t strike the same tone. In a Wednesday interview with Fox News, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that while “DACA enrollees are not being targeted ... we can’t promise people who are here unlawfully that they’re not going to be deported.”

This isn’t a clearly defined policy. It is cruel in its vagueness — and it’s no way to treat “incredible kids.”

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