NACE Position Statement on DACA: An Open Letter to the President of the United States

September 5, 2017

President Donald J. Trump
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) respectfully requests that you continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. It is the morally right and strategically positive thing to do.

The children brought to the United States at a very young age did not knowingly, intentionally violate the law. They were raised, schooled, and now work as if they were native-born Americans. To deport them back to a “homeland” they would likely find strange, unwelcome, and dangerous would not represent the American spirit of justice, even though it may fit the letter of the law.

The individuals who qualify under the DACA program represent the furthest thing from a threat to American security or a burden to government. To qualify, an individual must have come to the United States before turning 16 and have been a resident since 2012; they either must be in school or have graduated at least high school; they must not have been convicted of a serious crime, and must be judged as not representing a threat to national security. They are a positive element of the American economy and contribute positively to the state through their productivity and the taxes they pay. Since they are not eligible for government programs such as federal means-tested welfare, healthcare subsidies, Pell grants, or federally subsidized student loans, their tax contributions represent a net positive benefit to the American government whose loss some have estimated in the billions of dollars.

NACE recognizes that DACA does not represent a permanent solution for the “Dreamers” covered by the program. However, until a just and effective permanent solution to the conundrum of the “Dreamers” is enacted, we urge you to continue DACA and let these individuals remain in the United States and allow them to continue their positive contributions to their country.

Sincerely,

Glen Fowler
2017-18 NACE President
Recruiting and Training Manager
California State Auditor