Let’s dispel the fake news regarding Dreamers

WASHINGTON — For an administration that has repeatedly claimed that its top immigration priorities are boosting national security, the decision to end the Obama-era Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals order must be about one thing: politics.

It’s a play to a small segment of President Trump’s base, one that belies his claim yesterday to have “a lot of love” for the young people who have known no other home than the United States.

The folks who I have spoken to who support Trump’s decision to put these people at risk of deportation base their disdain for DACA on a litany of misinformation, myths and downright lies about who these so-called Dreamers are.

Let’s break them down:

Dreamers, by the strict terms set out in DACA, fall into one or more of three categories: workers, students, and/or current or former U.S. service members. There is no endless stream of them — only those who entered the country more than a decade ago are eligible.

They are required to have a high school diploma or equivalent or an honorable discharge from the military. But most go much further even though they are not eligible — repeat: NOT eligible — for federal student aid. More than 70 percent are pursuing or have received bachelor’s degrees, according to the Center for American Progress.

They are not eligible — repeat: NOT eligible — for any federal public benefit. No matter, because they jump at the chance to work. Nine in 10 DACA recipients are employed, contributing to the U.S. economy, paying income taxes and even becoming business owners who in turn create more American jobs.

And what an impact that work has. The Cato Institute quantified the blow the job losses from DACA’s rescission would have to the gross domestic product as $215 billion. The Center for American Progress has an even more dire estimate, projecting $460 billion in lost GDP over the next 10 years. That also means tens of billions of dollars in lost income tax revenue.

Dreamers don’t get amnesty. In fact, they have no path to citizenship, even though 73 percent have an immediate family member or spouse who is a U.S. citizen, according to CAP. They are not dangerous: they must be deemed to pose no threat to national security, and they’re required to have a nearly spotless criminal record.

These Dreamers are among the vast masses of folks who make this country great every day. They should be thanked, not threatened. And the myths perpetuated about them for political reasons are fake news.