Former US President Barack Obama criticized Donald Trump's decision to end the program to protect hundreds of thousands of people who arrived in the United States illegally as children, news agencies said.

Obama called the decision "cruel". "This is about young people who grew up in the United States, children who are studying in our schools, young people who start their professional life, patriots who have committed to respect our flag," the former head of state said.

"They are Americans in their own minds, they are Americans in any way but on paper," Obama added and defended his decision to introduce this program with a presidential decree in 2012. He refuted Trump's statement, that the decision was taken by his administration for legal requirements. "This is a political decision and a moral issue," he said, adding that "the young people who will be affected do not pose a threat to the US and do not deprive the rest of the country in any way."