Dreamer children deserve support.
President Donald Trump made a joint appearance Wednesday with two U.S. Senate Republicans to endorse their proposal to reorient immigration policy. The bill from Arkansas’ Tom Cotton and Georgia’s David Perdue would prioritize immigrants for entry based on their job skills and cut legal immigration levels by about half by 2027. The sponsors say it would benefit the U.S. economy.
But there’s a more pressing immigration issue looming for the White House and Congress. A failure to resolve it soon could cost the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade.
The details on DACA
At issue is a 2012 executive order from then-President Barack Obama that has shielded hundreds of thousands of young, undocumented immigrants from deportation. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals established a program offering two-year, renewable work permits to those immigrants, known as Dreamers, who were illegally moved to the United States as children.
While Trump vowed during his campaign to scrap DACA, he has sent mixed signals on the issue since taking office. But a threat from 10 state attorneys general — Florida’s Pam Bondi is not among them — to file a lawsuit as soon as next month to overturn it could force the president’s hand.
That makes it more important than ever for Congress to pass, and the president to sign, legislation that will remove the threat of deportation from Dreamers, so they can keep contributing to their families, their communities and their adopted home country.
DACA is available to immigrants who arrived in the United States before their 16th birthdays, were 30 or younger when Obama issued his order in June 2012, and have lived in this country since June 2007. They must be students, high-school graduates or honorably discharged military veterans. They must register with the government, clear a criminal background check and pay a $495 fee. They do not qualify for federal student aid or welfare benefits.
Nationwide nearly 800,000 immigrants, including almost 33,000 in Florida, have been granted work permits under DACA. Revoking those permits would cost the U.S. economy $460 billion over a decade, according to FWD.us, an immigration advocacy organization founded by technology industry leaders. In Florida alone, loss of the work permits would cost the state economy $1.5 billion a year, according to FWD.us.
Protecting Dreamers’ contributions
In the U.S. Senate, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham has introduced the latest version of legislation to be dubbed “The Dream Act.” It would allow undocumented immigrants who grew up in the United States to apply for legal status and ultimately citizenship if they can meet educational, work, or military requirements, pass a background check and stay out of any legal trouble. Two other Senate Republicans and three Democrats have co-sponsored his bill. So far, neither of Florida’s two senators, Republican Marco Rubio or Democrat Bill Nelson, has signed on. Considering the importance of the issue in Florida, both their names belong on the bill.
In the U.S. House, Republican Carlos Curbelo of Miami has introduced a bill called “Recognizing America’s Children Act” that would let Dreamers stay if they can continue to meet educational or military requirements, pass a background check and remain in good legal standing. His 17 co-sponsors include two from Florida: fellow Miami Republicans Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Either of these options would provide a solid legal foundation to maintain protection for Dreamers and their contributions to the Florida and national economies. If he is truly interested in an immigration policy that works for the economy, the president will get behind one or both bills. Leaving productive, law-abiding immigrants — blameless for their illegal entry, and American in all but their paperwork — vulnerable to deportation makes no economic or moral sense.