Ohio Business and Community Leaders Respond to Trump Administration’s Decision to End the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, Calls on Congress to Pass Bipartisan DREAM Act to Keep State Economy Strong

Cleveland, OH — Today, Ohio business and community leaders responded to President Trump’s announcement to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, opposing the decision to remove the thousands of individuals that help make Ohio’s economy stronger. The group called for Congressional solutions that instead harness the power of the foreign-born individuals eligible under DACA.

“The children of immigrants are absolutely vital to our culture, our economy and our communities,” said Mark Gilson, President of Gilson Gardens. “We need to support them and their American Journey by continuing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.”

The group is working with New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan organization that supports immigration reforms which help both American and foreign-born workers build a better economy.

In a brief released on Friday, Spotlight on the DACA-Eligible Population, NAE found that:

• As many as 10,663 Ohioans are currently DACA-eligible
• Despite the rhetoric claiming undocumented youths are a drain on the Ohio economy, 91.3 percent of the DACA-eligible population who are at least 16 years old are employed
• Ohio’s DACA-eligible population earns almost $168 million in total income annually.
• Ohio’s DACA-eligible population contributes more than $28.8 million in total taxes annually, $14.7 million of which goes to state and local tax revenue in the state of Arizona

So far, NAE petitions opposing DACA repeal have garnered more than 500 signers across the state of Ohio, and more than 20,000 nationwide.

“By every available measure, DACA has shown the numerous benefits of thousands of hardworking and talented individuals that enhance our economy,” said Veronica Dahlberg, Executive Director of HOLA Ohio. “To cancel it in order to score political points is not just bad decision making. It will have devastating consequences within our immigrant communities as this hits the Latino community especially hard.”