Nearly 800,000 young people wake each morning fearing that this is the day President Trump decides to strip them of their legal status. Five years after coming out of the shadows, identifying themselves to the government, submitting to extensive background checks and finally securing the right to live, work and go to school without the threat of deportation hanging over their heads, these young immigrants now face the possibility they will once again be in ICE’s crosshairs.
Ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will not only hurt the program’s beneficiaries, it will also cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars in lost social security and Medicaid contributions over the next decade. As our population ages, and employers across the country are finding it increasingly difficult to fill a host jobs, we need to be increasing our supply of young workers, not reducing it.
Historically, DACA has enjoyed bi-partisan support and ultimately, the path forward for those currently protected under DACA is legislation that would provide them with a pathway to citizenship. However, in the meantime, we can’t betray the trust that these young people put in their adopted homeland. To learn more about what you can do to help support efforts to preserve DACA, click here.
