Donald Trump gives Congress 6 months on DACA or ‘I will revisit this issue’

U.S. President Donald Trump has now announced he will “revisit” his decision to phase out the program that helped so-called Dreamers.

“Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!” he wrote on Twitter late Tuesday night.

Earlier in the day, he announced that there would be no new applications to former U.S. president Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which prevented people who had been brought to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation.

READ MORE: Canada could be a Plan B for older Dreamers, immigration lawyer says

A statement from the White House Tuesday afternoon said that “in the best interests of our country, and in keeping with the obligations of my office, the Department of Homeland Security will begin an orderly transition and wind-down of DACA.”

WATCH: Official statements on DACA wind down

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The “wind-down” allows Congress to come up with a legislative solution to the issue, Trump said in the statement. But as the Hill reports, it’s unlikely Republicans will take up the issue. Texas Senator John Cornyn said there’s “no way” Congress will jump-start the issue this month, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t even mention DACA when asked Tuesday.

“This Congress will continue working on securing our border and ensuring a lawful system of immigration that works,” McConnell said, as reported by the Hill.

Since the announcement, Trump’s been bombarded by criticism from advocacy groups, Obama, the president of Mexico and many more.

WATCH: Trump’s DACA decision prompts protests across U.S.

1:22 Protesters gather in New York and Los Angeles to protest DACA decision

The decision to rescind and wind down the program came on Sept. 5; the day that Republican attorney generals from 10 states gave to the federal government said they would sue back in June.

The issue is one he first brought up on the campaign trail, with Trump’s promise to “immediate terminate” the program.

Since his campaign kickoff speech at Trump Tower in June 2015, Trump had repeatedly vowed to eliminate the “illegal” program. The Associated Press reports that after the election, Miller, Bannon and Attorney General Jeff Sessions pushed the president to move on DACA soon after taking office.

But Trump seemed to be drifting in the other direction. He started telling associates he was unsure how to proceed.

WATCH:  Trump ‘wrestled’ with decision on DACA

0:45 Trump ‘wrestled’ with decision on DACA

“I love these kids, I love kids, I have kids and grandkids and I find it very, very hard doing what the law says exactly to do and, you know, the law is rough,” he told ABC News in an interview that aired five days after he took office. “It’s rough — very, very rough.”

*with files from the Associated Press