49
OPINION
SEPT. 29, 2017
WHAT’S THE IMPACT OF DACA?
$34,000 5.1 BILLION This translates to
$ $ $
$
earned on average as annual salary of DACA participants.
in tax revenue for the U.S. each year.
WHAT HAS CONGRESS DONE SO FAR? Dreamers can renew licenses through
OCT. 21&
Congress will decide whether to pass protective laws in March 2018.
Source: The New York Times & The Cato Institute
can enroll in DACA, hoping that their spotless fiscal budget means that, from a purely numbers ican jobs that illegal immigrants who reside in records will make them lower priority when it standpoint, it would be ridiculous to cut DACA. the country. It means saying that American citcomes to deportation. Clearly, they were wrong; Yet another one of the Trump administration’s izens who live off of welfare and refuse to find the government chose the easy way out instead argument against DACA is that it is unfair to jobs are more deserving of being American than of a real solution. legal U.S. citizens. The Trump administration illegal immigrants who contribute to the econEven worse, continuing to disguise the deci- speaks as if they don’t care about the country omy. This sort of black-and-white distinction is sion as a valiant fight against crime shows the just as much as a legal U.S. citizen does, and it’s the epitome of the xenophobia that characterdeeply-rooted xenophobia in the American gov- just not true; a significant portion of Dreamers ized the Trump administration’s campaign last ernment. It’s almost as if the Trump administra- are those who’ve received honorable discharges year and which was so strongly fought against tion believes that saying the words “illegal im- from the army. Those protected by DACA are at West High. There are people at West and in migrant” in conjunction with all of the evils of not taking away jobs from legal citizens, they the ICCSD community protected by DACA. our country will lead Americans to believe that are just exercising their legal rights provided by The Dreamers have grown up in America, livthere is a one-to-one relationship between the their DACA licenses. Rescinding these rights ing American lives and chasing the American two. Trust us, there isn’t, and DACA is dream. They are as American as any a prime example. “ TO SAY THAT DACA PARTI CI PANTS U.S. citizen growing up right beside First things first, DACA is a positive them. for the federal government. For one AR E ‘ STEALI N G J O BS AWAY F RO M Congress still has the ability to thing, DACA puts 800,000 people on create legislation to protect the the short list for jobs, and jobs means AM E RI CAN S’ I S TO R E F U SE TO SE E Dreamers. The Dreamers protectrevenue in the form of taxes. Accorded by DACA at this point will be ing to a Cato Institute study conducted AN AM E RI CAN B EYO N D WHAT YOU able to renew their protection until just this January, DACA participants 5, with no indication of what TH I N K AN AM E RI CAN SH OU LD B E .” Oct. average a salary of $34,000, and with will happen beyond that date. By federal income tax rates applied over March 2018, Congress will need to all 800,000 participants we obtain a total of 5.1 targets the Dreamers not for legal status but for have acted upon this ruling, but before then the billion dollars a year that the government will race, ethnicity and other factors they have no Dreamers will still have deferred action proteclose if they choose to remove these people from control over. tion. To leave your mark on this issue, contact their jobs. Over ten years, DACA is estimated To say that DACA participants are “stealing your Congresspeople and let them know what a to have added a total of $60 billion to the fiscal jobs away from Americans” is to refuse to see an terrible decision that the Trump administration budget. For all that the Dreamers contribute to American beyond what you think an American has made. If not out of sympathy for the Dreamgovernment revenue, they barely take anything should be. It’s believing that citizenship by itself ers, and if not out of fear of the billions of dollars out. By law, illegal immigrants are prevented should outweigh any other factor when evalu- our nation would lose, then do it to fight against from means-tested welfare programs including ating an American. It means saying that people a pattern of arrogance and xenophobia that perSocial Security and non-emergency Medicaid. who live in a different country and happen to meates through this country. The Dreamers’ net positive contribution to the be born in the U.S. are more worthy of AmerDESIGN BY WINGEL XUE