Each day that the United States fails to advance a rational and humane approach to the nation’s broken immigration system, the country misses out on significant economic benefits. The deferred action programs are an important interim step toward a long-term solution, and they will produce significant economic and fiscal gains. But those gains pale in comparison to the benefits that America would reap from legislative reform that includes a pathway to citizenship.
See also:
- Assessing the Economic Impacts of Granting Deferred Action Through DACA and DAPA by Silva Mathema
- The Economic Effects of Granting Legal Status and Citizenship to Undocumented Immigrants by Robert Lynch and Patrick Oakford
Silva Mathema is a Policy Analyst on the Immigration Policy team at the Center for American Progress. She would like to thank Robert G. Lynch, Marshall Fitz, and Philip E. Wolgin for their invaluable input.