White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on September 1 that on Tuesday, President Donald Trump will make his final decision surrounding the end of DACA or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: a program that allows more than 800,000 “Dreamers” to come to the United States. Under this program, immigrant youth are able to come protected to the United States; pausing the eligibility of them being deported and allowing these people to obtain a work permit that will expire after two years.
“We love the dreamers,” Trump told reporters Friday. “We think the dreamers are terrific.”
There’s a lot of controversy regarding this recent development. With people like Speaker of the House Paul Ryan urging the president not to rescind the program, GOP leaders in both the Senate and the House have conflicting views. Fearing that the end of the Obama-era program will “politically damage” the Republican Party, even states like Tennessee (under Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III) have withdrawn support for the end of DACA.
“I actually don’t think he should [end DACA]” – Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House
Even more than top Republicans, major corporations have also raised the stakes by pressuring Trump to preserve the program. Under DACA, 72% of the top 500 companies rely on DACA employees who contribute around $460.3 billion to the national GDP. According to studies done by the Cato Institute, ending DACA is approximately equivalent to ending 30 important regulations which will cause a “DACA Recession.”
“If you say they can’t work legally, no one is going to finish college and go for advanced degrees. That is going to have a major long-term implication for the economy. Ultimately you’re downgrading your workforce.” – David Bier, analyst at the Cato Institute
Much of the controversy comes from the lack of alternatives available after removing DACA. In an open letter written to the President, business leaders and titans such as Mark Zuckerberg stood in solidarity to preserve the program. The letter calls for Congress to pass the Dream Act: legislation that would grant current Dreamers permanent citizenship in the United States.
Then there are states such as Texas that will do anything to end of DACA. 10 state attorney generals have threatened to sue the government if it continued its stance for protecting people. The threat? End DACA by September 5 or these 10 states will try to end it in court.
Whatever may happen will depend on Trump’s personal agenda. If Donald Trump really is the business man he thinks he is, then a look at the statistics would make clear that ending DACA will bring a dramatic drop in economic growth.
