The Trump administration's argument that ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) will cut crime and save jobs for Americans is actually the opposite of the effect it will have, writes Derek Thompson in The Atlantic.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions officially announced the move Tuesday morning, saying that when then-President Barack Obama enacted DACA in 2012 it created a "massive surge [of] young people who would become members of violent gangs throughout our country," and that overturning it would create, "safe communities, a robust middle class, and economic fairness for all Americans."
Not so, argues Thompson, saying there is no evidence the so-called "Dreamers" affected are any more likely to commit crimes than other members of society. And, even so, any convicted criminals among the group are not eligible for DACA status anyway.
DACA allows certain adults who were brought into the country illegally by their parents to remain in the country. Trump's decision to revoke DACA fulfilled a campaign promise, but was paired with a six-month delay to allow Congress time to hammer out a solution to possibly allow Dreamers to stay.
Further, Thompson says, Dreamers are not drains on the economy. The average Dreamer has a job earning $17 an hour, according to the libertarian Cato Institute, and they pay taxes, while not being eligible to welfare. The liberal Center for American Progress says more than 90 percent of Dreamers have jobs, with their typical income $37,000 a year.
Seventy percent are either pursuing a bachelor's degree or already have one.
"[F]ar from being a drain on government, they are a boon," Thompson writes. "Cato estimates that ending DACA could cost Washington nearly $280 billion in lost tax revenue over the next decade."
The young age of Dreamers also is an asset, he said, since they fill in the gap for an aging population and low birth rate.
And, Thompson writes, Sessions' claim DACA increased illegal immigration is not true. On the contrary, Thompson said, illegal immigration has actually been declining since 2012.
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