After the Trump administration recently revealed intentions to scale back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program after five years in operation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a statement urging an equitable solution.
“The original DACA program announced in 2012 was premised on sound public policy, and unlike DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents), it was not challenged in court,” d U.S. Chamber Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley said in the release. “Individuals enrolled in good faith and became ingrained in our communities and the nation’s economy.”
DACA is the American immigration policy established by the Obama administration in June 2012 to safeguard those U.S. residents who entered the country illegally as minors. As of 2017, approximately 800,000 of the so-called Dreamers were enrolled in DACA to protect themselves from deportation and also to attain eligibility for work permits.
In the release, Bradley described the possibility of undoing the program – and the ensuing likely deportation of many individuals – as “contrary to fundamental American principles” and not in the nation’s best interests.
“With approximately 700,000 DACA recipients working for all sorts of businesses across the country, terminating their employment eligibility runs contrary to the president’s goal of growing the U.S. economy,” he said in the release. “We ask that the administration and the Congress work together to quickly find a legislative solution before the program expires.”
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