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Monday, June 15, 2015
It's Been 3 Years Since Obama Issued DACA: Here's the Estimated Economic Impacts of His Immigration Relief Programs
Posted By María Inés Taracena on Mon, Jun 15, 2015 at 4:30 PM
Today's the third year undocumented youth have been able to apply for President Obama's 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which granted permission to be in the country and work for a renewable two-year period.
It was estimated that roughly 700,000 young migrants qualified, according to the advocacy group Mi Familia Vota.
On Nov. 20, 2014, Obama announced an expansion of the DACA program and a similar relief for parents of U.S. citizen or legal resident children, a program nicknamed DAPA. However, on Feb. 16, a federal district court judge in Texas temporarily blocked both programs.
Currently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is solely accepting applications for people who qualify for the 2012 DACA.
The Center for American Progress' Silvia Mathema wrote about a recent report on the economic impact DACA, extended DACA and DAPA have/would have in each state. If the three programs are implemented fully, the U.S. economy would grow by $230 billion over the next 10 years, the analysis says.
An interactive map shows that about 137,000 people in Arizona are eligible for extended DACA and DAPA, which is more than half of the state's undocumented population.
Here are some of the Arizona numbers:
Cumulative increase in state GDP (gross domestic product): $6,199,000,000From the write up:
Cumulative increase in earnings of all state residents: $4,053,000,000
Cumulative increase in earnings of DAPA- and DACA-eligible workers: $3,378,000,000
Average annual number of jobs created: 780
The reasons why states see such large gains from the deferred action programs are similar to why the whole nation stands to benefit. Nationally, more than half the undocumented individuals have been living in the United States for at least 13 years with the majority of them working in our farms, factories, construction, hotels, and restaurants. If allowed an opportunity to receive temporary work permits, these immigrants will likely experience significant wage gains. These work permits will allow them to get jobs that better match their skills and protect against workplace exploitation such as wage theft. The increase in income of undocumented immigrants means that they will have more to spend on everyday goods and services. This increase in demand will have a ripple effect throughout the state’s economy, increasing the incomes of all state residents and creating jobs for all.Check out the state-by-state economic benefits on the CAP website.
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