New Data from FWD.us finds nearly 300,000 Dreamers Will Forced from Their Jobs and Lose Deportation Protections in the First Nine Months following the March 5th Deadline

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, FWD.us released a new report, “The Impact of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program Repeal on Jobs,” outlining the enormous job losses and far-reaching economic consequences that will occur if Congress fails to pass legislation to protect Dreamers, such as the Dream Act.

New data in the report details the escalating job loss impact for DACA recipients and American businesses if Congress does not move quickly to pass and implement a permanent legislative solution. The data analyzes economic consequences for the first nine months following the March 5th deadline, when young people enrolled in the DACA program lose their work permits and protections from deportation. Report findings show that without legislation to protect Dreamers:

• Between March 6 and November 6, 2018, nearly 300,000 DACA recipients will be ripped out of the American workforce.
• During that time, every single business day more than 1,700 Dreamers will lose the ability to work and contribute to the U.S. economy.
• All nearly 800,000 Dreamers could be fired from their jobs and will become priorities for deportation to countries that most have no memory of.

“The consequences of Congress failing to protect Dreamers would be devastating. Nearly 300,000 Dreamers will be forced out of their jobs and subject to immediate deportation in the first nine months following the March 5th deadline,” said FWD.us President Todd Schulte. “Every Member of Congress must now decide whether he or she is going to give Dreamers a chance to achieve the American Dream, or if they are going to watch as our neighbors and coworkers are ripped from our communities. Congress must pass a permanent legislative solution before they leave town for the holidays.”

Read the report here.

Earlier this year, FWD.us issued a report outlining the devastating economic consequences of a repeal of the DACA program. Now that DACA has been terminated, the onus is on Congress to pass a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers before the March 5 deadline.

Both reports from FWD.us indicate that Dreamers are economic multipliers and help drive the U.S. economy forward, helping to grow the American tax base and strengthening our middle class. Kicking Dreamers out of the workforce will result in more than $460 billion in lost GDP over the next decade, a devastating blow to our economy. In contrast, estimates show that passing a Dream Act that creates an earned pathway to citizenship for Dreamers could add as much as $1 trillion to the national GDP over a decade.

“By March 5, 2018, 22,000 young people will have lost DACA and work authorization and most likely will have been forced out of employment. As bad as that is, the problem gets exponentially worse after that,” said Tom Jawetz, Vice President of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress. “This report, which outlines the enormous job losses that will occur between March 6 and November 6, further underscores the urgency to protect Dreamers. Let’s avoid this ongoing, cruel and unnecessary crisis by passing the Dream Act now.”