Las Vegas, Nevada – Today, FWD.us, Dream Big Nevada, and U.S. Representative Dina Titus (NV-01) hosted a roundtable event to bring together business leaders, advocates, and other local leaders to highlight the importance of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, the growing crisis facing its recipients including ballooning renewal processing delays and escalating enforcement action, and the urgent need to protect its recipients to preserve their ability to contribute to Nevada’s workforce, economy and communities. The event included a state of play update from FWD.us and an engaging discussion from Congresswoman Titus and other participants around DACA’s significance to Nevada’s economy and workforce, and the growing uncertainty posed by ongoing legal challenges against the policy. 

This comes as FWD.us recently released a new report on the DACA policy, “DACA 14 Years Later,” which highlights its impacts over the years and FWD.us’ new campaign to document and push back against the administration’s escalating attacks on DACA recipients. 

Established in 2012, DACA was designed to protect immigrants who came to the U.S. with their families as children from deportation and give them access to education in the U.S. Today, many DACA recipients are no longer children. The overwhelming majority (89%) are in the labor force and contribute $76 billion annually to the US economy. More than a third (36%) are married or have children (51%). Yet, despite these contributions, DACA recipients still lack a clear path to citizenship and today face an immediate, escalating crisis as the policy continues to face administrative attacks and legal threats. 

There are approximately 10,000 DACA recipients in Nevada alone. The average age of a DACA recipient in Nevada is 33, and they have been in our country for an average of 27 years. Eighty-one percent of DACA recipients in Nevada are also part of our workforce, playing vital roles in key sectors of the state economy, including healthcare, education, and infrastructure – sectors already facing acute labor shortages. 

Congresswoman Dina Titus: “For years I have worked with groups like Dream Big Nevada to provide DACA recipients with permanent protections. Unfortunately, these efforts have been stymied by anti-immigrant forces in Congress. As the Trump administration ramps up deportations, renewal delays, and harmful rhetoric, permanent protections for DACA recipients are more urgent than ever before. I am committed to getting this done, to benefit Nevada DACA recipients, our neighbors, our businesses, and our communities.”

Jaime Rangel, Regional Government Relations Director, FWD.us: “DACA recipients, including myself, have built our lives, families, and careers in the U.S. The attacks and legal limbo DACA recipients are facing only create unnecessary uncertainty for DACA recipients and their families. They work across critical industries and their contributions strengthen our communities and economy every day. Thank you, Congresswoman Titus, for your dedication to this issue. We look forward to seeing a permanent solution that provides certainty to DACA recipients.”  

Astrid Silva, Dream Big Nevada: “Today’s roundtable demonstrates that protecting DACA recipients is critical for Nevada’s future. Dreamers have waited 14 years for the certainty that they deserve. We see firsthand at Dream Big Nevada the incredible contributions that DACA recipients make across Nevada’s healthcare systems, small businesses, school and so much more. However, no matter what  they accomplish, they have to live with the fear that it could be taken away. I am grateful that Congresswoman Titus has been an ally in this fight, and we urge Congress to finally deliver the permanent protections that DACA recipients have earned.” 

 

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

Key data points from FWD.us “DACA 14 Years Later” Report Include: 

• Fourteen years after the creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, DACA recipients have grown up and lived the majority of their lives in America: youth who started as mostly high school and college students are now building careers and establishing families.
• Fourteen years later, DACA’s beneficiaries have built families and careers in the U.S.
  • Eighty-nine percent of DACA recipients are in the labor force.
  • DACA recipients contribute $76 billion annually to the US economy.
  • Thirty-six percent of DACA recipients are married, and 51 percent have children. 
• Today, more than 535,000 DACA recipients are building careers and growing their families across the U.S.
• If DACA ends, the country faces the loss of 440,000 workers, $648 billion in economic losses, $30 billion in lost business income, and up to $150 billion in lost state and local government revenue.
• More on DACA delays, denials, detentions, and deportations can be found here. 

Additionally, in Nevada alone, DACA recipients are building lives and families. 

• 10,000 DACA recipients live in Nevada.
• The average age of DACA recipients in Nevada is 33 years old, and on average they have been in the U.S. for 27 years. 
• Eighty-one percent of Nevada DACA recipients are in the labor force.