You should care about the Dream Act — it benefits us all

This month, the House passed a bill that would provide permanent legal immigrant status and a stronger road to citizenship for Dreamers, individuals without authorized immigrant status who were born outside the country and brought into the United States as children. The bill more than likely will die if and when the Senate votes on it, once again sidelining the struggles of those whose residency in the United States is in limbo.

An estimated 10.7 million undocumented immigrants were living in the United States as of 2016, according to Pew Research Center. Whether this legislation passes or not, millions of Dreamers will be affected by the outcome. What the rest of the U.S. population may not realize is that the benefits of the Dream Act, and Dreamers themselves, are far-reaching, positively impacting every U.S. citizen — even those not in immigrant families.

One perpetual myth about Dreamers and undocumented immigrants is that they do not pay taxes. This myth leads individuals to believe that Dreamers take advantage of the services provided by the U.S. government made possible by the tax contributions of citizens and permanent residents.

These beliefs are simply untrue. Dreamers, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients, and undocumented immigrants pay taxes including sales tax and local real estate tax. Many pay Medicare, state and federal taxes, and even Social Security tax (though undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Social Security benefits). In fact, undocumented immigrants working in the U.S. contributed $11.74 billion in state and local taxes, according to a 2017 report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

By providing legal permanent resident status and carving a path towards citizenship, we increase the opportunity for undocumented immigrants to find better jobs and contribute more in taxes that enable the government to provide better services to all U.S. residents.

A college education often is associated with securing better jobs and increased earnings. However, to obtain higher education, a student must find a way to pay for it. Dreamers lack access to the same financial aid opportunities as permanent residents and citizens. Financial aid options may be available depending on which state they live in, or from the school they wish to attend. But undocumented immigrants cannot obtain federal student aid or loans from the U.S. Department of Education, the largest provider of such loans, according to a report from the Education Commission of the States.

For Dreamers, this can mean having to complete their college coursework over a longer period of time, pausing or interrupting their education, or dropping out entirely. Considering undocumented children have the right to K-12 education, not providing them the same ability to earn a higher education indicates the government is undermining its own investment. 

By giving Dreamers and DACA participants a path to citizenship, participants have equal opportunity to access financial aid programs that can help them pay for school, earn college degrees, and become more competitive in the workforce — ultimately contributing in greater numbers to the economy and paying more taxes. That benefits all of us.

The disappearance of Dreamers and undocumented immigrants would significantly weaken the economy. Using data from 2012, the American Action Forum researched the economic benefit that undocumented immigrants provide the United States. Their key findings, released in 2016, noted this population made up 5.6 percent of all employed individuals in the private sector. Their removal from this sector would reduce private industry output “by between $381.5 billion and $623.2 billion.”

When focusing solely on DACA recipients, there would be similar losses if this population were not part of the U.S. economy. The American Action Forum also found that “DACA recipients contribute, on average, roughly $3.4 billion annually to the federal balance sheet” and that “removing all DACA recipients would cost between $7 billion and $21 billion and reduce U.S. GDP by 0.4 percent.”

Dreamers and DACA recipients contribute significantly to the United States economy. Carving a path to citizenship will only increase their positive impact from which all Americans can benefit. The current Dream Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation, indicating that both political parties in the House recognize the widespread benefit this population produces. But if it’s so clear, why is the federal government not leaping at the opportunity to take advantage of these potential increased contributions to society?

Ashley-Marie Hanna Daftary is a professor of social work at the University of Nevada, Reno. She has researched the experiences of Mexican immigrants and the impact of immigrant detention, deportation and mixed-citizenship status on the well-being of Latinos.