Hundreds of thousands of immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals are in danger. There are many misconceptions surrounding DACA and immigrants that are widely perpetuated, even by our political leaders. We break down some of these myths.
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Immigrants are criminals
This myth, famously propagated by President Trump during his 2016 campaign, is a common misconception about undocumented immigrants living in the United States. According to a research study conducted by the CATO Institute:
“Empirical studies of immigrant criminality generally find that immigrants do not increase local crime rates and are less likely to cause crime than their native-born peers, and that natives are more likely to be incarcerated than immigrants.”
Furthermore, DACA participants must undergo a background check and never been indicted for a crime or misdemeanor to ensure that they are eligible for the program.
Additionally, DACA recipients feel as though they are among one of the most marginalized groups of people in the United States that live in constant fear of deportation.
Immigrants are taking away jobs from other Americans
Economists reveal that there are several misconceptions surrounding this issue—
First, it is important to address that there is a shortage of qualified workers in America; ending DACA would actually worsen this. DACA recipients are well educated, speak fluent English, and are raised as Americans. As a result, The CATO Institute argues that a DACA repeal would significantly hurt the US economy:
“A repeal or roll-back of DACA would harm the economy and cost the U.S. government a significant amount of lost tax revenue. We estimate that the fiscal cost of immediately deporting the approximately 750,000 people currently in the DACA program would be over $60 billion to the federal government along with a $280 billion reduction in economic growth over the next decade.”
Second, the Lump of labor fallacy assumes that there is a fixed amount of jobs available and that the increase in available employees leads to higher levels of unemployment. Economist Scott Sumner points out why this is false, and argues that the increase of deportation would be disadvantageous to the American economy. He directs specifically to the agricultural industry in California as an example:
“There’s simply no way that California fruit and vegetable producers could pay enough money to attract American workers. They’d go out of business, and their output would be replaced by imports. Instead they’d switch to crops that do not require significant farm labor. Thus deporting illegals will not create new jobs for American workers.”
Lastly, because DACA recipients contribute to the growth of their communities, they help expand the economy. Receiving a higher education and a higher paid job means affording to spend more money on purchases and services. This also allows DACA recipients to grow in their career opportunities, or even open a business that would create more jobs.
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DACA encourages illegal immigration
DACA specifically applies to immigrants who entered the United States before 2007. Today, DACA recipients range between 16-35 years old with the average DACA recipient being 25 years old. This is an immigrant group who has little to no prior knowledge of their birth country, have been raised as Americans, and have spent roughly twenty or more years in the United States. As Voxnews correspondent Dara Lind describes, DACA recipients are “socially integrated… but legally victimized.”
Although the majority of DACA recipients are of Mexican origin, the increase in illegal child migrant crossings stemmed from Central American countries inflicted with severe amounts of violence. The main motivation that parents have in smuggling their children to the United States is to seek refuge, not dictated by American policy. According to a report published by David Bier from the Niskanen Center:
“DACA did not cause the child migrant crisis. In fact, although the U.S. Border Patrol appears to have only recorded the number of unaccompanied alien children since 2008, the overall number of apprehended children—unaccompanied and accompanied—is currently lower than it was a decade ago. Nearly all apprehensions resulted from increased migration of children from Central America. This change reflects the general trend toward migration from non-Mexican countries, not American policies toward child migrants.”
Fundamentally, DACA is a protective form of legislation established to help an existing and specific immigrant community. This same legislation does not help the recipients’ parents or other family members that are also undocumented, and requires precise qualifications.
By: Nadia Lopez