A new report finds that about 5,400 young immigrants in Michigan, those known as the “Dreamers,” could be deported in 2018 if Congress does not act.

A renewal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program remains in limbo on Capitol Hill as lawmakers continue to balk at a fix. In September the Trump administration’s Justice Department announced that the program will end unless Congress takes action to create a new version of DACA. The beneficiaries are those who came to the U.S. illegally as children while accompanied by parents or other adult family members.

The report by the nonprofit Michigan League for Public Policy found that the 5,400 Dreamers contribute an estimated $13 million in state and local tax revenue and they boost Michigan’s annual GDP by $418 million.

If no action is taken on Capitol Hill in January, immigrants enrolled in DACA would lose their ability to work, go to school or legally drive a car without risking deportation. Getting deported would mean being sent back to their family’s homeland, though they may have no memory of ever having lived there.

According to the MLPP report, these young people came to the United States as children and identify as Americans in every sense of the world, but do not have legal status. The DACA program, established in 2012, granted temporary reprieve from deportation through a renewable 2-year work or study permit for Dreamers who met requirements.

Opponents of DACA say that the Dreamers are in the country illegally and, regardless of age, they should face deportation just like any undocumented adult immigrant.

In Washington, temporary spending bills designed to avoid a government shutdown were passed by Congress in September and twice this month, most recently on Thursday. Each time, DACA supporters and activists were angered that promises to include a DACA extension in the legislation were broken.

The decision to put a higher priority on avoiding a government shutdown has created Democratic divisions on Capitol Hill as party leaders, with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York in the forefront, continue to ask for patience on a DACA fix. Those leaders are now saying that they expect action in January.

 

Photo: CNBC screenshot

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