DACA-Eligible Entrepreneurs Earned More Than $658.7 Million in Total Business Income in 2015

NEW YORK, NY – As the fight to protect Dreamers continues in Washington, NAE is releasing data every day showing just how much DACA-eligible immigrants contribute to the American economy. In today’s installment, we focus on entrepreneurship, and highlight that DACA-eligible immigrants – much like immigrants overall – start businesses at a higher rate than their U.S.-born contemporaries, according to research from New American Economy. In 2015, DACA-eligible immigrants were 15 percent more likely to start a business than U.S.-born Americans in the same age range. A total of 37,813 DACA-eligible immigrants owned their own company in 2015, and these businesses had a total income of $658.7 million.

“Dreamers are job creators,” said John Feinblatt, President of New American Economy. “They strengthen businesses and start their own at a high rate – further proof that keeping Dreamers here and hard at work makes economic sense for America.”

In addition to economic research on the DACA-eligible population, New American Economy has collected immigration stories from every single congressional district through iMarch.us. One such story comes from Angel, a Dreamer and founder of a tech start-up in New York.

At 18, Angel’s mother was deported back to her native Peru, and his brother went back with her. While enrolled in community college, he founded a technical service and repair company with three partners that services public schools and businesses – and he qualified for DACA. A year later, the company had three clients and was contracting with more than 10 Long Island suppliers. “I love the United States, and I consider it home, but I also believe that if I was to get deported it would be a loss for the country,” says Angel. “The challenges I have faced because of my legal status have made me a stronger person, and anywhere I’ll go, I will fight for success and the well-being of my community.”

Today’s release is the fifth in our series on DACA-eligible immigrants’ contributions to the economy. Learn more about their income levels, tax contributions, payments into Social Security and Medicare, and employment. And check out all of our DACA-related research here.