The Supreme Court decision to uphold Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – or DACA – is a morally and economically wise one that also upholds the long, important legacy of the contributions immigrants have made to American society for centuries. We know, anecdotally, especially in the Bronx, the high value of DACA recipients in particular. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, an estimated 1.3 million DACA recipients contribute $1.7 billion a year in state and local taxes. Upholding DACA ensures that important resources for the Bronx, New York City and the state stay here.
In the Bronx, where Lehman College is proud to be a catalytic anchor institution committed to rebuilding a borough that was already under-resourced before COVID-19 and SARS-COV-2. Our students were among the estimated 200,000 frontline, essential workers who risked their health to provide for others, even as many of them lost loved ones to the pandemic. Despite these great risks, our first-generation students – 56 percent of the Lehman student population – in the epicenter of the nation’s epicenter for coronavirus deaths and infection rates because of long held disparities, continued to show up. Today’s decision is one way that our nation begins to show up for them.
About TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college access and success program for immigrant youth, having provided more than 5,000 college scholarships to DREAMers at more than 70 partner colleges in 16 states and Washington, DC. We believe that all young Americans, regardless of where they were born, should have the opportunity to get a college education and pursue a meaningful career that contributes to our country’s prosperity.