Dear Editor,

DACA, or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, has come under scrutiny of President Trump’s administration. DACA provides work authorization and a temporary halt on the deportation of illegal immigrants that arrived in the United States as children if they meet certain criteria. He has called for the abolishment of this executive order established under Barack Obama. If it were to be repealed, what would be the intended impact it would have on our economy? Over 645,000 people would lose the right to work and it would cost businesses $3.4 billion to find replacements for all of those workers. Also, this would reduce government revenues, primarily Social Security and Medicare.

In response to this Sens. Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin have introduced the BRIDGE Act, which provides work authority to illegal immigrants that were brought to the United States as children for a three-year period. The requirements to get this protection are essentially identical to the DACA requirements. This law will help the United States to maintain its strong and diverse economy.

I urge Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) to cosponsor the BRIDGE Act (SB 128) in the Senate. I would like to also urge Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) to cosponsor the companion bill in the House of Representatives (HR 496).

Mathew Hursey

Newcomerstown