Ever since DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was repealed last September, business leaders have been advising Congress that stripping 800,000 young Americans of their residency status and work permits would create an economic disaster.
Some members of the U.S. House of Representatives have offered balanced legislative solutions, which address the DACA crisis while also further securing our border.
While Congress delays, more than 20,000 Dreamers have already lost their protections.
Fortunately, U.S. Representative Jeff Denham (R-Modesto) recently announced that he has the votes to break this impasse, and we applaud his efforts.
Los Angeles County is home to more than 115,000 DACA recipients and other DACA-eligible immigrants. When we consider that over 90 percent of all DACA recipients are currently employed with a full- or part-time job, many of whom are primary earners for their families, it’s not difficult to see how uprooting these individuals would spark massive turnover costs for employers, slash household spending, and dampen state and local tax revenues.
You don’t have to be an employer or a business leader to understand how vital these Dreamers are to our economy. According to a recent poll, 86 percent of all Americans want Congress to address the DACA crisis, as well as further secure our border.
Many of those Americans who are asking Congress to act believe the current threat to Dreamers is bad for America as well as young Dreamers who willingly chose to come out of the shadows to register under DACA. In so doing, they paid recurring application fees and complied with stringent criteria, based on a faith and trust in our country. To strip away their rights now is simply wrong.
Many Americans understand how inextricably Dreamers and other young immigrants are tied to this country’s social fabric and economic foundations. With unemployment at historic lows, and immigrants adding billions of dollars to our gross domestic product and tax revenue, the facts are clear that subjecting them to deportation would be economically disastrous.
A federal district court ruled last week that the legal basis for President Trump’s repeal of DACA has been “virtually unexplained” and the government must continue processing applications. While many may interpret the ruling as a safeguard for Dreamers, these young workers are still without an earned pathway to citizenship. The federal court is giving the administration 90 days to redouble its legal arguments – meaning Dreamers are still marginalized and on thin ice.
That is why it is crucial that Congress enacts a permanent legislative solution that includes safeguarding work permits, protections from deportation and a pathway to citizenship, combined with smarter border security utilizing technology and a more comprehensive border strategy.
Four such measures are currently log jammed in the House. But Rep. Denham has introduced House Resolution 774, invoking a little-known maneuver called “Queen of the Hill,” which allows a majority vote on whether to forward these four bills to the House floor for consideration.
Rep. Denham is a fighter who is showing he is not afraid to stand up for his constituents in the Central Valley, or the 86 percent of Americans who want a solution now. His maneuver also appears to be gaining momentum. Over 45 other Republicans have signed on to co-sponsor H.Res. 774, and full support from Democrats is expected. We applaud this effort. There is no time to waste.
Gary Toebben is president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.
