- Press Release
DACA Recipients Need Permanent Protection from Congress
Washington, D.C., Oct. 10 2024—Today, the 5th Circuit Court in New Orleans, Louisiana will hear a case that will decide the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects over 530,000 people from deportation. The program, which protects those who were brought to the United States as children and who are undocumented, has been facing attempts to dismantle it through litigation and executive action since 2017.
“So long as Congress fails to step up and provide a permanent solution, DACA recipients will continue living in constant fear and uncertainty, at risk of having everything stripped away due to a court decision,” said Andrea Ramos, digital communications specialist at the American Immigration Council and as of October 2024 a former DACA beneficiary, who is in New Orleans today. “As polarized as our politics are right now, the majority of Americans want to see Dreamers protected. Congress needs to deliver, so that the future of Dreamers can be secured.”
In addition to the estimated 530,110 people with active DACA status, an additional 1,127,100 people are eligible for DACA protections. The DACA-eligible population is already contributing billions to the U.S. economy, paying $10.4 billion in taxes according to 2022 data.
“This case could end DACA completely. That’s absolutely terrifying for recipients like me,” said Ilse Ramirez, a DACA recipient and paralegal at the American Immigration Council, who is in New Orleans today. “The loss of Dreamers would also devastate the U.S. economy and communities across the country. We need Congress to act, and we need the Biden administration to do everything in its power to protect us.”
Additional resources:
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Map the Impact: economic contributions of the DACA-eligible population
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Fact Sheet: The Dream Act
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Fact Sheet: DACA
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About the American Immigration Council
The American Immigration Council works to strengthen America by shaping how America thinks about and acts towards immigrants and immigration and by working toward a more fair and just immigration system that opens its doors to those in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring. The Council brings together problem solvers and employs four coordinated approaches to advance change—litigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications. In January 2022, the Council and New American Economy merged to combine a broad suite of advocacy tools to better expand and protect immigrants' rights, more fully ensure their ability to succeed economically, and help make the communities they settle in more welcoming. Follow the latest Council news and information on ImmigrationImpact.com and X @immcouncil.