On Tuesday, California Governor Jerry Brown and legislative leaders announced a plan to devote $30 million to help people who are affected by the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
DACA allows undocumented young people who meet a set of criteria to qualify for work permits and to receive temporary protection from deportation.
Today the plan will be addressed in a legislative committee. The aim is to give $20 million in additional funding for immigration legal services under the One California program, and then $10 million in financial aid for DACA recipients will be split among the three public higher education systems (community colleges, CSU, and UC).
Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De León (D-Los Angeles) said, “We will not let one man with xenophobic tendencies undercut years of progress we have made in California to integrate these young adults into our society and economy. California is their home and they are our future.”
Assembly Speaker Rendon (D-Lakewood) added in a statement, “The new funding for DACA services we are adding to the budget will provide answers and help young Californians stay in the only country they’ve ever known. Donald Trump may love chaos. These kids don’t deserve it.”
This is the kind of solution that we have come to expect in California to resist Donald Trump’s destructive agenda on immigration. We want state leaders to provide solutions that work for our young people despite what is going on in Washington.
Nationally, there are nearly 800,000 DACA recipients, with a majority of those living in Texas and in California. California stands to lose the most economically from rescinding DACA with an anticipated loss of $11.6 billion in gross domestic product. Beyond economic loss, DACA recipients are members of our communities and families, and we should be providing ways to keep them incorporated in our society instead of harming them.
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