More than a dozen House Democrats proposed a resolution this week in celebration of the third anniversary of President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Obama created the program in 2012 to allow children whose parents brought them to the U.S. illegally to remain in the country on a temporary status “and make meaningful contributions to our country,” the resolution reads.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, sponsored the resolution with the support of 14 other House Democrats. The resolution stated that more than 664,000 people have received “temporary and renewable work permits and Social Security numbers” so they can work in the U.S.
It estimated that up to 1.4 million younger immigrants are eligible for the program.
“[T]hese young individuals provide a positive economic impact to the United States, with a recent report finding that nearly 49 percent opened their first bank account, 45 percent had increased job earnings, and 33 percent obtained their first credit card,” it read.
The resolution said DACA has helped the nation “economically, socially, and culturally due to … the contributions of our past and most recent immigrants.” It concluded by saying the House recognizes the importance of DACA and its ability to let these immigrants pursue “the American dream,” and that the country benefits from their presence.
Obama’s action received a much colder reception from Republicans, who say Obama went around Congress to write a new immigration policy that not only stops illegal immigrants from being deported, but also confers benefits on them, such as Social Security numbers.
Obama went further last year, when he proposed an expansion of DACA and a new program to help parents of these immigrants stay. Twenty-six states sued over that policy, and it has been subject to an injunction for several months now.
