Texas Business Leaders Urge Congress to Provide Permanent Protections for Dreamers

AUSTIN, TX — Texas business leaders – including the Texas Association of Business, Texas Business Leadership Council, Texas Restaurant Association, Texas Retailers Association, Texas Nursery & Landscaping Association, Rio Grande Valley Partnership, San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, North Texas Commission, and the Greater Houston Partnership – issued the following joint statement after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in State of Texas v. USA finding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program illegal:

“Yesterday’s ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will leave a devastating impact on Texas’ workforce, economy, and communities without a permanent legislative solution from Congress that allows Dreamers to continue living, working, and studying in the Lone Star State and nation as a whole. Since DACA was enacted a decade ago, more than 100,000 Texas immigrants have launched businesses, established careers, and built families that help our communities and state succeed. While this decision allows the current policy and renewals for existing DACA recipients to remain, it is another step closer to the termination of the DACA policy altogether. Further, it draws out uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients while failing to support the future generation of Dreamers.

“We have witnessed the vital role Dreamers play in our state’s key industries as workers, leaders, and entrepreneurs who have helped shape Texas’ society, culture, and the economy into the global leader we are today. During an already challenging time for Texas’ workforce and economy, Texas businesses can’t afford any further setbacks to building a robust workforce. We urge Congress to establish a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers to allow these immigrants to live free of fear and continue contributing to our state’s prosperity.”

Additional Background Since the DACA policy went into effect a decade ago, more than 100,000 Texas immigrants have been able to benefit from temporary deportation protections and work authorization. The DACA-eligible population in Texas has contributed $963.4 million in annual federal, state, and local taxes. Without a permanent legislative solution in place, Texas could lose $8 billion in annual GDP and about $78 million in state and local taxes each year – and the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have called Texas home since childhood face deportation to countries most don’t remember.

Originally published by FWD.US