On April 12, 2018, over 50 Chambers of Commerce from across the country signed a letter to Congressional leadership calling for Congress to pass legislation providing a path to permanent legal status for immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children, the so-called Dreamers. Many of them now have legal protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but only federal court injunctions stand between them and the loss of that protection and their work permission.
MeBIC Partners, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, a MeBIC founder, and the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce are two of the Chambers who joined with MeBIC’s national partner, the New American Economy, to urge Congress to act now so that DACA/Dreamers will no longer be in limbo.
This drama began on September 5, 2017, when the Administration announced the rescission of the DACA program. Only Congress can provide a permanent fix to the crisis, but President Trump must stop moving the goalposts and frustrating the good faith efforts of bipartisan legislators who want to find a solution. The waste of human potential, and the economic costs of Washington’s inability to get a rational bill providing a path to permanent status for DACA/Dreamers over the finish line, are detailed in this previous MeBIC post.
The U.S. public and the business community nationwide and in Maine both overwhelmingly support crafting a solution for DACA/Dreamers. Congress must prioritize acting on this. Senators Collins and King were leaders in crafting a bipartisan solution for the DACA/Dreamers. They should continue to press Congressional leadership for action.