Dreamers are deeply integrated in the U.S.
Dreamers have grown up in America, have formed deep ties in their communities, and contribute tremendously in every state across the country. Many Dreamers have been able to earn an education and contribute to the workforce thanks to DACA; this policy and its success help provide insight to the experiences of Dreamers as a whole.
FWD.us has published estimates of the characteristics of DACA-recipients. On average, DACA-recipients have lived in the United States for more than 22 years, and are on average 28 years old. Most DACA recipients have graduated high school, and about half have some college education. More than three-quarters of DACA recipients are in the labor force, working in every industry of the economy, including as nurses, teachers, and first responders.
For many Dreamers, America is home to family, including their U.S. citizen children, siblings and extended family. Nearly 1 million U.S. citizens live with a DACA-recipient, including 590,000 U.S. citizen children who have at least one parent protected by DACA; expanded to the whole Dreamer population, the numbers are much larger.
DACA-recipients also contribute significantly to the U.S. economy, contributing $11.7 billion to GDP annually. Providing Dreamers a pathway to citizenship would increase these contributions significantly.
An estimated 1 million Dreamers are essential workers, almost half of the total Dreamer population. They play a particularly important role in COVID-19 response and recovery, especially in industries like healthcare, food services and production, and housing and facilities.
A pathway to citizenship for Dreamers remains an overwhelmingly popular bipartisan policy. Polling from late January 2021 shows that 83% of Americans, including 66% of Republicans, support a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.