Businesses Urge Appeals Court to Uphold DACA as Economic Benefit

Ernst & Young LLP, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, HP Inc., IBM Corp., Starbucks Corp., and Verizon Communications Inc. are among the major employers warning that eliminating immigrant Dreamers’ removal protections and work authorization would drain $460 billion from the gross domestic product.

The businesses made their case in an amicus brief filed Thursday in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is set to hear the latest round of arguments over the legality of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“DACA recipients have helped to drive and sustain the American economy by filling crucial labor shortages, creating new businesses, spending their incomes on American products and services, and paying taxes,” the companies warned. “Today, with unemployment at low levels and worker shortages plaguing many sectors of the economy, the contributions of Dreamers are more important than ever.”

The program, originally launched in 2012, has been on shaky ground since a federal district judge in Texas ruled in September that a Biden administration rule codifying the program was unlawful. The Fifth Circuit previously affirmed a ruling from the same judge invalidating the Obama administration executive memorandum that established the program, but kicked the case back to the lower court to consider the Biden regulations issued in 2022.

There were more than 544,000 active DACA recipients as of Sept. 30, according to DHS data.

The government filed an appellate brief last month arguing that DACA is consistent with the Department of Homeland Security’s statutory authority and that the Republican-led states suing to end the program lack standing to challenge its legality.

Republicans aiming to overturn DACA argue that the program violates the separation of powers, and that it remains unlawful despite the administration’s effort to bolster its legitimacy through formal rulemaking.

But the companies argued in their amicus brief that the program has transformed the lives of young people who were brought to the country as children by allowing them to pursue educational opportunities and job opportunities that match their skills.

More than 300,000 Dreamers work in industries with labor shortages, like health care and education, while others have started businesses that employ a total of nearly 86,000 people, according to the brief. DACA recipients have launched businesses at twice the rate of Americans overall.

Invalidating the program would harm companies, workers, and the US economy as a whole, the business coalition argued.

“Employers would lose qualified, valued employees at a time when they desperately need skilled workers. Companies would lose dependable consumers. Workers would lose employers and colleagues,” the brief said.

The case is State of Texas v. United States, 5th Cir., No. 23-40653, amicus brief filed 2/1/24.