The organization Center for American Progress (CAP) reported that in the last year and a half, three-quarters of the beneficiaries of Deferred Action (DACA) have been essential workers.
The latest figures (June 2021) showed that 590,070 DACA recipients are currently active. In this sense, during the last year and a half, DACA beneficiaries have represented a workforce of jobs considered essential, of more than 343 thousand people.
This workforce is represented by 34 thousand health workers who have direct care with patients, 11 thousand workers related to the provision of health services, 20 thousand educators and 100 thousand workers in food supply chains.
The impact of DACA before the pandemic was paramount, contributing about $ 6.2 billion in federal taxes, and $ 3.300 in state and local taxes each year. However, their contribution as essential workers during the pandemic and in the post-pandemic economic recovery has been invaluable.
"Their contributions as the economy recovers are real, but a path to citizenship would propel them to new heights, especially as the United States continues on its course toward economic recovery," the CAP report explains.
The report also shows data on the importance of access to housing for DACA beneficiaries, as they own more than 68 thousand houses. In addition, they have a purchasing power of more than 25 billion dollars nationwide. While at the state level the two states with the highest purchasing power among DACA beneficiaries are California and Texas with 8 billion and 3 billion respectively.
“The only way to extend permanent protections to current DACA recipients, those excluded from the program, and the wider undocumented community is through a path to citizenship. Congress must act to do so ”, explain the authors of the report in its conclusion.
However, the report only considers data on DACA beneficiaries, because according to the CAP itself, in a report published in December 2020, the number of undocumented workers amounts to more than 7 million people, representing 4.4% of the force of I work across the country. And in the same way, in states like California or Texas, undocumented workers represent 7.5% and 8.4% respectively.
