I am not going to take the bait. I am not going to act like the dogs on a mission in the movie Up and have a “Squirrel!” moment. I won’t let the horrifying racist statement distract me from the true purpose of the meeting, restoring the protections to the almost 800,000 people in this country known as Dreamers.
On September 5, 2017, the president signed an executive order ending the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), a program designed to give undocumented immigrants who arrived here in circumstances beyond their control a way to safely avoid deportation. But more importantly, it gave them a legitimate status that allowed them to come out of the shadows and become more effective, contributing members of the only country many of them have ever truly known.
To receive DACA status, you had to be under the age of 31 before June 2012 and had to have come to this country before you were 16. So, clearly, your coming to the United States was not your decision nor was it under you control. 45% of Dreamers are in school. Of those over 70% are pursuing bachelor’s degrees or higher.
Over 25% of them live in my state. The modal (most common) age of their arrival to our country was the age of 3. The average age of the arrival of a dreamer in our country is 6. My daughter is approaching age 3, and while I think she is a genius and in my weaker moments, it feels like her will triumphs over mine, she is not in control of our family.
But more importantly, our government made them a promise. Our government said something to the effect of, “If you give us your information, you will have a status that allows you to have a gainful employment without the threat of deportation.” So they came out of the shadows. They registered in the DACA program. They were subjected to background checks. Many got drivers licenses. And their earning potential increased. Their average hourly income increased by $7 an hour by coming out of the shadows. Roughly 700,000 people stand to lose their jobs. We made them a promise. And reneging on that promise throws their safety and security into chaos. They could be deported from the only home some of them have ever known.
And as of March 2018, not only have they lost their protected status, they could be subject to deportation. And they would be relatively easy to find. They registered with our government on good faith because our government made them a promise of a legitimized status.
On the plight of the Dreamers:
- An estimated 1.9 million people are eligible for DACA. Of those Roughly 800,000 have had their DACA status accepted.
- In a Center for American Progress Survey, the US stands to lose $460 billion dollars from GDP over the next decade due to the loss of an estimated 600,000 workers from the workforce if the legal status of DACA recipients is changed.
- An estimated 20,000 are teachers.
- A recent Quinnipiac poll finds 80% of Americans say Dreamers should have the right to stay in the US and apply for citizenship.
It is time to stop playing politics with the lives of real people in our country who love our country and who are working to make our country a better place. It is time to honor our promise to them and pass a clean Dream Act that protects their status and allows them a path to citizenship.
But the hateful comment was born from discussion of a different set of immigrants, those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). These are 300,000 people who migrated to our country because conditions in the home country were not sustainable at that point in time. And, sadly, the deteriorated conditions have not improved.
To focus on the “shithole” nature of the countries in question is to ascribe that quality to the people themselves and not the root causes of geopolitical instability and natural disasters exacerbated in many cases by US inaction. That would be a lie. It takes great courage to flee your home on a prayer of a better life for your family. To create that better life, you must be your best self. You likely came with nothing, so you must work hard from day one to provide the security your family needs. You must behave impeccably because the xenophobic grip on our current government is ready, willing, and able to send you back to the nightmare. Almost 90% of these immigrants work. They clean our homes and businesses, construct our buildings and roads, tend our gardens. It is the hard work of honest people that brings 4.5 billion to our GDP annually. We should honor their hard work and faith in the American dream, not denigrate their homelands with words unbecoming of a high school class president let alone the leader of our nation.
Republicans own all branches of government. Theoretically, they could enact any single change they desire. If they really want to take a stance against the president’s racism, they could pass a clean Dream act and honor our promise to these valuable people. Call your senators and representatives. Tell David Perdue you wish he had a better memory, sure. But make sure you also demand he and they all honor this “no-brainer” concept.
#electionshaveconsequences