Economists across the political spectrum are concerned that
Trump’s decision to repeal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) will
increase unemployment. DACA is an
immigration policy established by the Obama administration to protect the
children of undocumented immigrants.
Commonly referred to as “dreamers”, these immigrants arrived as children
with their parents and grew up in American society.
Many economists have argued that the problem with today’s
job market is rooted in the nation’s lack of highly-skilled workers. In an
attempt to create job openings for documented American workers, the Trump
administration has decided to end the DACA program. With an American education,
the “dreamers” are generally more skilled than the majority of undocumented
immigrants. Currently, 91 percent of the “dreamers” are employed. Therefore,
removing them from the workforce could likely exacerbate the current issues
with the American job market.
The decision to repeal DACA poses a significant threat to
output as well, for firms in need of skilled individuals are at risk of losing
many qualified workers. Economist Ike
Brannon even warns of “severe shortages” of labor and a reduction of economic
growth by $280 billion in the next decade. The numerous other potential costs
of removing DACA range from a decrease in overall consumption to a shortage of medical
professionals. DACA’s repeal appears to pose a significant amount of threats
that, according to Brannon and other economists, far outweigh its potential
benefits.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/09/08/dacas-end-would-hurt-economy-hiring/638835001/
It is interesting that 21% of the DACA protected individuals work in the education and health sector. That number is relatively high compared with all other US workers which 16% of work in the education or health fields. That means the field that would get hit the hardest by repealing DACA would be education which is where highly skilled labor comes from. Overall it sounds like shutting down this program would be a mistake for many reasons.
ReplyDeleteIt is also a disadvantage for republicans to end DACA because it can cause them the House if Representatives. Americans are not in favor of this issue.
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