Even though many Americans have such a hard time accepting the DACA decision that was made a few weeks ago, I can understand why the Trump administration made this decision. Some people, particularly people with right-sided views, focused on the fact that President Obama’s DACA decision was “unconstitutional” and “un-American” since it gives non-citizens the opportunity to obtain certain privileges or freedoms that Americans have. Some people even claim that the only reason why the Obama administration put DACA into effect was to get the “minority vote,” since this was one of the only ways that Obama could be re-elected again the following year. Also, some Americans argue that the U.S. government snubbed them off when the Obama administration put DACA into effect and that the government pushed money towards the initiation of the program whilst pampering non-citizens rather than helping its own. Whatever you may believe is the reason that DACA was put into place or whatever your views are on this program (e.g. whether you think DACA is a mistake, etc.), you cannot deny that it is still in effect today and that the program has close to one million individuals that participate in it. However, the Trump administration’s decision to rescind DACA may be a mistake.

Let’s talk about the people that participate in DACA. The individuals who have DACA, who are also known as Dreamers, most likely have state-issued driver’s licenses or other documents, have stable jobs in many fields including in education or the military, have had thorough background checks, and may have houses or other assets as well. These individuals have already established their lives in the U.S. and pay taxes with the knowledge that they will not be able to benefit from any governmental benefits such as Medicaid or HUD.

Based on these facts, why do we want to reject Dreamers if they are law-abiding and are consistent with their contributions to our economy? Where they are contributing to an economy that is rebuilding itself from a stock market crash and a housing bubble explosion about ten years ago? These individuals are funding Americans’ governmental benefits as well as funding for some of their own freedoms in America. They have established themselves here already and it is easily understood as to why they do not want to leave the country because they would lose their valuables – their main source of income, their assets, their families. The consequences of getting rid of this program may negatively affect citizens and non-citizens if nothing gets done.

As this DACA discussion continues, it will ultimately be up to Congress to attempt to resolve this situation, which may not be resolvable. However, a solution that Congress may execute in order to benefit the economy and that may appeal to Americans could be to make the DACA program more costly or have a premium for participants. There has been some talk on “back-taxing” DACA recipients by government officials and this could be a logical solution. DACA, whether it has a high charge or not, will have people applying and people renewing if the program were to continue. Since most Dreamers are not considering leaving the country since most of them have established themselves here, this may be one of the ways to achieve some middle ground since the deportation of all these individuals is not feasible. According to CNBC, the U.S. gross domestic product could be reduced by $433 billion if all these individuals were deported and this would have lasting consequences on America. However, by making the DACA program more expensive to recipients, there will be more funds allocated to U.S. Homeland Security, a government organization that protects Americans and protects the nation’s borders from real threats, and to government instituted programs that benefit American citizens.

To make an example out of this: DACA already costs an applicant about $495 according to the official USCIS website, which equates to $396 million if there are 800,000 applicants and all of that funding goes to U.S. Homeland Security. However, by making the price higher for applicants, let’s say the cost to apply was changed to $1000, the funds allocated from all 800,000 individuals would give U.S. Homeland Security about $404 million more. I think that those people that complained about DACA and that voted for Trump purely based on the “building a wall along the border” agenda would be content with that transaction to Homeland Security. Also, Dreamers are not just throwing money at Homeland Security, but also to Americans in an indirect way through government programs. This may be a win-win for both citizens and Dreamers so long as the DACA program continues and this is only one hypothetical situation out of many where it can be proven that the effect of a higher cost to participate in DACA would help our economy.

The reality of this situation is that the DACA program is at risk of being removed and getting rid of it may come as a loss for the American economy. Even if this program ends, Dreamers will still be able to pay their taxes in the future since most of them have social security numbers now and perhaps they will still have driver’s licenses as well so they will manage with the situation. However, Dreamers will not be able to be on the payroll at their jobs in the future unless they obtain a U.S. Visa through a complicated or cumbersome method in order to obtain work authorization and to have a path to citizenship. Also, some Dreamers will most likely have to work under the table in the future if this program ends or start their own businesses with the help of others. Dreamers will lose the feeling of security, which came with the privilege of participating in DACA, and they will have an anxiety or fear of being deported. Unless everyone, citizens and non-citizens alike, participate in grassroots activism and push Congress to get some type of reform done to DACA in order to benefit Dreamers and to fix Dreamers' hopelessness, the U.S. immigration system will not be progressive for non-citizens anymore.