DACA: 5 Ways Corporate Leaders Can Step Up To Make An Impact

DACA has ceased to exist as we have known it, leaving many disheartened wondering what the future holds for the lives and hopes of 800,000 young people.

President Trump announced he plans to put an end to the executive order issued by President Obama in 2012 which grants protection to children who were brought to the U.S. by undocumented parents; these are the Dreamers. The program has serves as a living case study for what a path to “documentation” or citizenship can deliver to the American economy. Since inception, the program allowed 800,000 youth to receive documentation to work, attend college, pay taxes and exercise their full potential and contribution achieving the American Dream. Eighty-seven percent of the young immigrants currently enrolled in DACA are employed, contributing an estimated $2 billion a year in state and local taxes, and 70 percent are pursuing a bachelor’s degree or higher. DACA was temporary to begin with, and now Congress has been challenged to fix it and work on a permanent solution within the next six months.