WASHINGTON • President Donald Trump looks set to scrap a programme shielding from deportation immigrants who came to the US illegally as children, but will give Congress six months to craft legislation to replace it.

The President has decided to delay enforcement of his decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or Daca, according to two sources on Sunday. But one source cautioned that the President could yet change his mind.

The decision to give Congress half a year to come up with an alternative legislation, first reported by Politico, represents a compromise after top Republicans and business leaders asked Mr Trump to keep the programme.

Daca, an Obama administration policy, protects nearly 800,000 young men and women often called "Dreamers" from deportation and allows them to work legally.

Dreamers are a fraction of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Mr Trump as a candidate promised to deport them, but many Americans have rallied to support the young adults who have spent large parts of their lives in the country.

The decision, due today, will seek to placate both sides in the immigration debate.House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan urged Mr Trump last Friday not to rescind the programme.

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American Republican from Florida, tweeted her dismay: "After teasing #Dreamers for months with talk of his 'great heart', @POTUS slams door on them. Some 'heart'."

That said, Mr Trump's base will likely be far from happy about the President's decision to leave open the option of a fix.

Democrats such as Senator Al Franken of Minnesota also wanted the programme to continue, calling the reported decision a"disgrace".

Ms Nancy Pelosi, the top House Democrat, last week asked Mr Ryan to meet Democrats to discuss a "comprehensive legislative solution".

Leading business figures have defended the Dreamers, including Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, writing to the President outlining the economic contribution of Dreamers.

But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin downplayed those warnings, telling Fox News Sunday he was "less concerned about the economic impact".

REUTERS