Dreamers
By the Numbers

The bipartisan Dream Act of 2023, introduced by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), would establish a pathway to citizenship for certain Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. at a young age and have grown up here. As legal challenges threaten the future of this critical policy, this legislation is necessary to ensure that Dreamers can continue living in and contributing to the country they call home. A pathway to citizenship for Dreamers is long overdue.

Here are some important numbers about Dreamers, based on FWD.us estimates and as defined by the 2023 Dream Act, showing why every U.S. Senator should cosponsor this critical legislation.

1 | POPULATION
Nearly 2.3 million immigrants would have a pathway to U.S. citizenship through the Dream Act.

The Dream Act of 2023 (S. 365) defines Dreamers as individuals who entered the U.S. before age 18 and have continually lived in the United States since at least four years prior to the date the bill is signed into law.¹ Eligible Dreamers must be inadmissible/deportable under current immigration law, or protected by Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Dreamers in the 2023 Dream Act also must have finished high school or its equivalent, or be enrolled in school.

Nearly 2.3 million immigrants living in the U.S. would be eligible under the 2023 Dream Act, making up roughly one-fifth of the total population of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

More than 1 million, or greater than half of the immigrant population covered by the 2023 Dream Act, are generally eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This policy was implemented in 2012 and was open to eligible individuals who entered the U.S. in 2007 or earlier, at 15 years old or younger, and were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012. DACA applicants must also have obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent, be currently enrolled in school, or be an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States.

About 590,000 Dreamers had active DACA status as of September 30, 2022, and under the Dream Act of 2023 would be eligible for immediate conditional permanent residence.

Unfortunately, an estimated 400,000 DACA-eligible Dreamers are currently unable to access DACA protections, including an estimated 95,000 Dreamers who have already applied for DACA, because a federal judge has prohibited the government from processing new applications. Additionally, FWD.us estimates that there are an additional 600,000 vulnerable, school-aged Dreamers who are unable to meet DACA eligibility requirements because they came to the U.S. too recently.

A small number of Dreamers under the 2023 Dream Act—an estimated 125,000, or nearly 6%—are holders of, or are eligible for, TPS, a renewable protection for certain immigrants in the U.S. where the U.S. government has deemed it unsafe for them to return to their country of origin. Most are from Haiti, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Honduras.

2 | AGE
Most immigrants who would be covered under the 2023 Dream Act are younger than 30 years old.

While Dreamers have grown up in America and many have held DACA for many years, the potentially eligible population under this bill is relatively young.

All told, more than 1.5 million of the immigrants who would be covered under the 2023 Dream Act, or more than two-thirds, are younger than 30 years old. Their median age is 24.

Nearly 600,000 eligible Dreamers are minors who are less than 18 years old, while about 1.7 million are 18 years or older. Most Dreamers younger than 18 are ineligible for DACA, even if new applications were being processed, because DACA’s arrival requirements have not been updated since the policy was implemented in 2012.

3 | ORIGINS AND ARRIVAL IN U.S.
Dreamers are from all over the world, most have have lived in the U.S. for 10+ years and entered when they were very young

Dreamers eligible under the Dream Act have grown up in America, with three-fourths living in the U.S. for the majority of their lives.

About 1.7 million immigrants under the Dream Act of 2023, or roughly three-fourths (76%), entered the U.S. in 2012 or earlier—a decade ago or longer.

And nearly the same number—1.7 million, or 76% of eligible Dreamers—arrived before the age of 13, meaning they have spent many of their most formative years in the United States.

Nearly half of Dreamers eligible under the 2023 Dream Act, or nearly 1 million people, were born in Mexico, while the other half of potential beneficiaries came from a diverse range of countries.

About 370,000, or 17%, are from Asian countries such as India, China, and the Philippines. About 320,000, or 17%, were born in Central American countries, including El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. About 160,000, or 7%, are from South American countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil, while 160,000, or 7%, are from European countries or Canada. About 120,000, or 6%, are from Caribbean countries like Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, and 110,000, or 5%, were born in either Africa or the Middle East.

4 | EDUCATION
4 | EDUCATION More than 900,000 potential beneficiaries are currently earning their education in the U.S.

To be eligible for the pathway to legal status in this proposal, potential beneficiaries must be enrolled in school, have earned a high school diploma or equivalency, or meet military service requirements.

The majority of eligible Dreamers would fulfill this requirement by having already completed part of their education. More than 1.6 million Dreamers eligible under the Dream Act, or nearly three-fourths (73%), have already completed high school or its equivalent. Some 250,000, or more than 1 in 10 (11%) Dreamers covered by the framework, have also completed a college degree or diploma.

Yet many eligible Dreamers are younger and are still pursuing their education. Among the individuals included in the framework are an estimated 600,000 K–12 students and 300,000 college or university students, or some 900,000 students total. Of this group of students, an estimated 300,000 are currently eligible for DACA; the rest arrived too recently to qualify for DACA protections.

5 | WORKFORCE
Nearly half of immigrants covered by the Dream Act work in industries with severe labor shortages .

Many individuals eligible for lawful status under this proposal—including work authorization—are already trained and employed in critical industries, including many industries facing significant labor shortages.

Roughly one million potential beneficiaries, nearly half of all eligible individuals, are working in industries experiencing 5% or higher job-opening rates. This is a high number of crucial workers, despite the fact that many Dreamers are enrolled in school.

More specifically, an estimated 190,000 eligible individuals work in construction, 190,000 in retail trade, 170,000 in accommodation and food services, 140,000 in manufacturing, 140,000 in professional and business services, 110,000 in healthcare and social assistance, and 80,000 in transportation, warehousing, and utilities.

In all, 6 in 10 immigrants under the Dream Act of 2023 are in the workforce, or more than 1.3 million.

6 | ECONOMIC IMPACT
If the Dream Act becomes law, Dreamers are positioned to contribute hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy within the next decade.

Even with limited protections and opportunities, Dreamers contribute tremendously to their communities and the economy. With access to lawful status and, eventually, citizenship, Dreamers would be positioned to contribute even more.

Dreamers covered by the 2023 Dream Act already contribute an estimated $45 billion to the U.S. economy each year through their wages, and pay $13 billion annually in combined federal, payroll, state, and local taxes.

According to FWD.us economic projections, just those eligible for DACA, a subset of Dreamers covered in the Dream Act, would contribute at least $390 billion in wages and $117 billion in combined taxes over the next decade.

7 | FAMILIES
Substantial shares of covered immigrants are parents of a U.S. citizen child, and many are married to U.S. citizens.

Dreamers have grown up in America, building lives and families here. Establishing a pathway to legal status for Dreamers would directly affect hundreds of thousands of American families and U.S. citizens.

Some 4750,000 immigrants under the 2023 Dream Act, or roughly one-fifth of all potential beneficiaries, are parents of at least one U.S. citizen child. This amounts to about 750,000 U.S. citizen minor children with at least one Dreamer parent.

At the same time, more than 200,000 Dreamers covered by the proposal, or about 1 in 10, are married to U.S. citizens. This means that nearly half of eligible Dreamers who are married have a spouse who is a U.S. citizen.

Most Dreamers entered the U.S. without a visa and without inspection, and thus are currently ineligible for permanent residency under existing pathways, even though they have immediate family members who are U.S. citizens.