The Atlantic

The Economic Senselessness of President Trump’s DACA Repeal

The White House claims that young undocumented workers are often criminals and a drag on the economy. Research indicates otherwise.
Source: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

President Donald Trump has decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, an executive action that protected from deportation more than 800,000 “Dreamers,” undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children.

In a statement, the president said that the Obama initiative led to a “massive surge [of] young people who would become members of violent gangs throughout our country.” Revoking DACA, he went on, was necessary to ensure “safe communities, a robust middle class, and

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