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KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE DEPORTING DACA RECIPIENTS WILL COST US BILLIONS. W H O W A N T S T H AT ? BY DAV I D A DA M E & G L EN N H A M ER
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Students from Clark County School District’s mariachi program performed at the CPLC NEVADA 2018 Esperanza Latino Teacher Awards in Las Vegas. Photograph by Ben Scolaro
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COVER STORY
4 | KEEP THE DRE AM ALIVE Deporting DACA recipients will cost us billions. Who wants that? Originally published in the Arizona Republic CPLC UPDATES
1 0 | I M PAC T R E P O RT CPLC is Making Maryvale a better place to live
1 2 | S U C C ES S S TO RY CPLC Corazón gives individuals recovering from addiction a second chance
ABOUT CHICANOS POR LA CAUSA Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) was founded in 1969 to confront oppression facing Latinos in Phoenix, Arizona as part of the movement led by Cesar Chavez. Since then, we have become one of the largest Hispanic nonprofits in the country, providing direct services impacting more than 305,000 individuals annually in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Our vibrant community presence spans a comprehensive range of bilingual and bicultural services in Health & Human Services, Housing, Education, and Economic Development.
TALK TO US Want to comment on something we publish? We’d love to hear from you! Send an email to our editorial staff at marketing@cplc.org.
WHAT DOES “CHICANOS POR LA CAUSA” MEAN? Our name represents our roots. The term “Chicano” refers to those who navigate both the Mexican and American worlds and was popularized during the Civil Rights movement, when CPLC formed. “Por La Causa” (pronounced “cow”-”saw”) translates to “for the Cause,” which at that time was combating discrimination. Since then, we have expanded our interpretation of “Chicano” to mean anyone who believes in equal opportunity for all people, regardless of background, and “the Cause” continues to evolve, like CPLC, to meet the changing needs of the community.
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KEEP THE DREAM DEP ORT I NG DAC A R ECI P I EN TS W I L L COST U S B I L L I O N S . W H O WA N T S T H AT ? BY DAV I D A DA M E & G L E N N H A M E R Last September, President Donald Trump set a deadline for the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the program that temporarily protected from deportation undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. It’s now up to Congress to find a solution. However, with the program’s expiration date looming, a congressional solution remains elusive, and that’s worrisome. WHILE CONGRESS WAITS, COURTS WEIGH IN As Congress dickers, other decisions are being made that affect Arizona’s economy, like the recent ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court that “dreamers” or DACA recipients are not eligible for in-state college tuition. There were 27,865 DACA recipients in Arizona in September 2017, a number that shrinks each day as more Arizonans lose their DACA status. The three federal judges’ ruling gives these young immigrants a respite. But they remain in greater legal limbo because the attorneys general for Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia have asked another U.S. District Court to decide whether DACA is indeed lawful. 4
Chicanos Por La Causa and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry believe there must be a legislative path forward to bring the DACA issue to a positive resolution. DACA RECIPIENTS MAKE GOOD MONEY A failure to do so would be a terrible missed opportunity and a self-inflicted economic injury. More than 87 percent of DACA recipients—over 24,000—are working, earning an average of $17 per hour. One in five DACA recipients is also pursuing an advanced degree, which means Arizona DACA recipients are striving to obtain higher paying jobs, which leads to higher consumption and higher tax revenue generation. Arizona DACA recipients are employed at all levels of the workforce – nurses, teachers, engineers, scientists and laborers. Arizona DACA recipients and DACA workers nationally over the last 10 years have contributed nearly $25 billion to Medicare and Social Security, something from which we all benefit.
THE COST TO REPL ACE THEM IS HUGE These costs stem from the cycle of identifying, training and replacing deported DACA recipients. The cost of deportation itself is high, with no return on investment. It would cost the country at least $10 billion to deport DACA recipients alone. Those costs will have to be absorbed by the federal budget, crowding out other important priorities. If DACA is eliminated, our country will lose more than $460 billion from our existing GDP base over 10 years. At the same time, there would be an additional $280 billion reduction in future growth above that GDP base resulting from the loss of an expanded workforce. For Arizona, the DACA issue complicates our relationship with our top trading partner, Mexico. Arizona leaders at all levels of government have helped forge the model binational relationship.
It’s an economic contribution we shouldn’t take for granted. Employers would incur $3.4 billion in turnover costs to replace DACA workers if the program were eliminated.
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Arizona’s welcoming environment has attracted more Mexican-owned businesses. A failure to reach a resolution on DACA runs counter to the positivity that surrounds the Arizona-Mexico relationship and harms the state’s ability to attract talent and new job creators.
The argument for a permanent DACA solution is economically sound. It also is just. Chicanos Por La Causa and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry stand with our nearly 30,000 friends, neighbors, family and co-workers in asking Congress to lay aside its partisan differences and consider what this enormous loss would mean to us all.
David Adame is the president and CEO of Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. and Glenn Hamer is the president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Twitter: @ DavidAdameCPLC and @GlennHamer. This article was original published in the Arizona Republic and on AZCentral.com
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BY K A R E N A R M K N EC H T, K A R I N A T E L LO, AND B E N SCO L A RO
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a r e “ v e ry ” o r “ s o m e w h at ” s at i s f i e d living in the communit y
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HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
A SECOND CH INDIVIDUALS RECOVERING FROM SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND ADDICTION FIND A NEW LEASE ON LIFE AT CPLC CORAZÓN. by ELISHA FRANKLIN, CPLC Corazón
When Thomas first arrived at CPLC Corazón, he openly admitted, “A month ago, life was hopeless.” Thomas’ struggles over the years with bi-polar disorder and depression had led him to self-medicate with alcohol. Unfortunately, years of dependency led to addiction, which tore apart his body and alienated him from his family. He came to CPLC Corazón battling chronic pain and not on speaking terms with his children. At first, Thomas was almost silent in any group setting, overcome with guilt over his past actions and hurt by his children’s absence from his life. Finally, in an individual meeting with StepDown staff, Thomas finally felt “heard” by his counselor and was able to form a plan of action to confront and overcome his past.
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As he changed from within, Thomas began to engage with others in the program for the first time. Soon, he was volunteering to help around the facility and mentoring his peers who were newer to the program. By the end of his stay at CPLC Corazón, Thomas had overcome his internal turmoil and put together a plan to become self-sufficient. Today, Thomas has found housing and is working in the restaurant industry, where he is training to become a manager. But more importantly, after the long road to recovery, Thomas has finally been able to reach back out to and begin to rebuild his relationship with his children, which to him means the most of all.
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