These young immigrants are huge contributors to Texas. Congress must protect them

Nine years ago, Congress reached yet another stalemate on immigration reform – this time, it revolved around protections for young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally by their families.

Because of this, President Barack Obama established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, as an urgent, yet temporary fix for these immigrants to earn an education and participate in our workforce and economy.

Almost a decade later, Congress remains stalled in its efforts to provide these “Dreamers” with permanent protections and an earned pathway to citizenship. This inaction leaves them beholden to the constraints that come with living under a temporary legal status and jeopardizes our regional, and national, economy.

In Texas, more than 100,000 DACA recipients wield $3.5 billion in spending power and pay $417.7 million in state and local taxes every year. Further, North Texas is home to the third-highest concentration of DACA recipients in the nation, with nearly 35,000 DACA residents. These young immigrants are creating jobs and bringing their intelligence and hard work to a multitude of industries. Our region is also home to an estimated 92,000 DACA-eligible immigrants who paid close to $200 million in taxes in 2017.

While the DACA program was a beacon of hope for young immigrants and has been proven successful, the current program is temporary and limited. According to a new report by FWD.us, an immigrant advocacy group, 23% of immigrants who are in Texas illegally are Dreamers who came as children, many knowing only this country as home.

Fortunately, most Americans see the value in providing Dreamers with a pathway to citizenship. Recent polling that shows that 74% of Americans believe in granting permanent legal status to immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.

Our country’s support for this type of policy should be welcomed. We are a nation founded by immigrants. Granting citizenship to Dreamers appeals to our core American values of hard work and as a land of progress and opportunity, regardless of a person’s family from which they came. Additionally, community and business leaders across the state see the economic benefits of having productive immigrant populations in their cities and regions.

In North Texas, immigrants represent 24.4% of our working age population and 29.4% of our STEM workers, leading the way for modernization and innovation through science, technology, engineering and math. Nearly 103,000 immigrant entrepreneurs have started businesses and are generating jobs in DFW, generating $2.9 billion in business income just in 2017.

Unfortunately, sensible immigration policies such as DACA that protect certain young immigrants have been continuously under attack – both by the previous administration, Congress and in the courts. Thankfully, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling one year ago this month to uphold the program. But a looming verdict from U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen of Texas could bulldoze DACA — a decision that would devastate our communities and stint future economic growth.

Without swift congressional action, DACA could be terminated. However, removing these individuals from Texas and our country would result in a $6.2 billion loss to our state’s GDP.

We at the North Texas Commission are proud to be an advocate for legislation that grants citizenship for Dreamers. With 50-plus years of experience, we have a strong reputation of teaching and supporting federal and state policies that are pro-business and allow our region to thrive.

As the fourth-largest growing region in the country, we need all Dreamers to access opportunity for growth and development to continue creating jobs and working in our expanding healthcare, tech and manufacturing industries.

This month, as we celebrate the contributions of immigrants made possible by the DACA program, let us also stress the importance of a legislative solution that provides economic security for our Dreamers and North Texas.

Time is money, and delaying the passage of such legislation is not only immoral, it’s also a waste of resources and potential.

Chris Wallace is president and CEO of the North Texas Commission, a public-private partnership that promotes and advocates for the region .