Our View: Congress must help immigrants stay,

President Trump’s decision to roll back President Obama’s order protecting the 800,000 young immigrants known as Dreamers from deportation has put the onus for the issue back where it belongs — on Congress.

Now it’s critical for House and Senate members from both parties to resolve in the next six months — ideally much sooner — to prevent immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children from losing their right to live and work legally in this country under Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Failing to revive DACA wouldn’t just deliver a cruel blow to these immigrants, who are Americans in all but their paperwork. Terminating their work permits would cost the U.S. economy $460 billion over the next decade, according to FWD.us, an immigration advocacy organization founded by technology industry leaders. In Florida alone, home to an estimated 33,000 Dreamers, the hit to the economy would amount to $1.5 billion a year.

Even some hardliners on immigration, including Gov. Rick Scott, have revealed a soft spot for Dreamers. “I do not favor punishing children for the actions of their parents,” Scott said last week, before Trump’s decision was announced. “These kids must be allowed to pursue the American Dream, and Congress must act on this immediately.”

Obama’s executive order, issued in June 2012, offered renewable two-year work permits and protection from deportation to immigrants who arrived in the United States before their 16th birthdays, were 30 or younger at the time of the order, and had lived in this country for at least five years. Eligibility was restricted to students, high-school graduates or honorably discharged military veterans who registered with the government, paid a fee and cleared a criminal background check.

It’s hard to imagine a group more deserving of a break than the Dreamers. Trump said many are “incredible kids.” But Obama issued DACA after Congress deadlocked on legislation that would have accomplished the same objectives. And federal court rulings strongly suggest the order might not have survived a lawsuit looming from 10 state attorneys general, which could have forced a sudden and disruptive end to the program.

The policy on which Trump settled, announced Tuesday by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, stopped short of immediately terminating DACA. The Department of Homeland Security will consider any applications already in the pipeline to obtain or extend DACA benefits. The department also will give people in the program whose benefits expire before March 5 a one-month window to renew their status for two more years.

There are worthy bipartisan proposals in both chambers that would supply the solid legal foundation missing from Obama’s order to protect Dreamers and their ability to build their futures while contributing to their communities and the nation’s economy. In the House, Miami Republican Carlos Curbelo is the lead sponsor of a bill that would let Dreamers stay as long as they meet educational or military requirements and steer clear of any trouble with the law.

If legislation like this is to have any hope of passing, leaders in both chambers must make it a priority. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who favors a “permanent legislative solution” to protect Dreamers, needs to wield the power of his position to make it happen. Ditto for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. And top Democrats in both chambers need to work together with them.

For more than a decade, Congress has failed under both Democratic and Republican control to pass badly needed reforms to U.S. immigration policy. Here’s hoping a six-month deadline for saving DACA — after which 1,000 Dreamers a day will begin losing their work permits — will concentrate minds in the U.S. Capitol.