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Recently, the Bangor Daily News published a compelling editorial on the current situation facing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and Dreamers in America. They emphasized that without a swift legislative solution, their futures are at risk. I agree, and recognize just how detrimental this would be for our nation.
This was in response to a recent court ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that DACA is unlawful, pushing the policy back down to the District Court in Texas, where further negative outcomes are all but guaranteed.
As the editorial board wrote of DACA recipients, “they deserve better.” These are our family and friends, as well as economic invigorators nationwide who are filling key job openings and paying taxes every single day. If DACA ends without a fix from Congress, Maine alone could lose nearly $4 million annually in GDP, while national GDP could decline by more than $460 billion over the next 10 years.
Without action from lawmakers in Washington to protect Dreamers, our economic prosperity hangs in the balance. I encourage our leaders, including Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Angus King, to create an earned pathway to citizenship for Dreamers this year.
Jared Bornstein
Skowhegan
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