Fourteen Mayors Urge Trump to Continue DACA

Fourteen U.S. mayors, including Denver’s mayor Michael B. Hancock, have signed a letter sent to President-Elect Donald Trump asking his administration to continue accepting and adjudicating initial applications and renewals for DACA recipients until Congress can implement immigration reform.

President-elect Donald Trump has previously promised to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was created by executive order by President Obama. Approximately 740,000 people have approved DACA status, and terminating the program will leave many of those people in legal limbo.

DACA is available to applicants who: entered the U.S. before their 16^th birthday; were in the U.S. on June 15, 2007 and have continuously resided here since then; were under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012 and had entered without inspection or had expired status on that date; are in school or have graduated or received a GED; and have not been convicted of certain crimes.

The letter to Trump references the benefits the DACA program and its recipients have provided to the country. Of all DACA recipients, 87{b6b8f04f7bd4b863c4cfed8339fd19419bda3e071c79bc5ac8c810cb9c52e30f} are employed, 6{b6b8f04f7bd4b863c4cfed8339fd19419bda3e071c79bc5ac8c810cb9c52e30f} have started their own businesses (only 3.1{b6b8f04f7bd4b863c4cfed8339fd19419bda3e071c79bc5ac8c810cb9c52e30f} of the general American public has done so), 90{b6b8f04f7bd4b863c4cfed8339fd19419bda3e071c79bc5ac8c810cb9c52e30f} have gotten driver’s licenses, and 54{b6b8f04f7bd4b863c4cfed8339fd19419bda3e071c79bc5ac8c810cb9c52e30f} have purchased cars. The letter estimates the U.S. would lose $9.9 billion in tax contributions during Trump’s presidency if he terminates DACA, and $433.4 billion would be lost from the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) over the next decade if he ends the program.

The letter was delivered to Trump by Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel when the two met, but President-Elect Trump has not commented on the letter as of the date of this post.