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Minnesota Representative Erik Paulsen urges speedy passage of legislation to protect DACA recipients
Posted on Nov 11 2017
St. Paul, MN, November 10, 2017 – Republican Third District Congressman Erik Paulsen joined 13 other Republican representatives on Thursday in calling for Congressional action to protect DACA recipients. The press conference came on the day that DACA recipients and supporters flooded into Washington to demand a clean DREAM Act before the end of the year.
In a statement after the joint press conference, Representative Paulsen said:
“This morning shows once again there is a growing consensus for a solution to help young people who came to our country through no fault of their own and for all practical purposes are Americans. I will continue to support helping the 6,000 DACA recipients in Minnesota to ensure they remain valuable contributors to our state and country.”
The administration announced an end to DACA on September 5, effective on March 5. In Minnesota alone, more than 6,200 young DACA recipients arrived in this country at age 15 or younger and consider Minnesota their home.
“Thanks to Representative Paulsen for his support for a path to permanent residence and citizenship for DREAMers,” said John Keller, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM). “We know that all of the DFLers in Minnesota’s Congressional delegation support DREAMers, and I believe that the other Republicans in the delegation will join with Representative Paulsen.”
The state of Minnesota needs DACA. Minnesotans with DACA pay $15 million in state and local taxes. According to the Center for American Progress, ending DACA would cost Minnesota more than $367 million in annual GDP losses. We currently are experiencing historic waves of older workers leaving the workforce. According to the Humphrey Institute and Greater MSP’s January 23, 2017 report, we not only need to keep every last DREAMer in MN – but we need to expand the rate of immigration to Minnesota to maintain our current economic standard of living.
On October 26, chief human resource officers for 110 major corporations urged Congress to pass DACA legislation quickly, and to recognize the crucial role played by foreign-born workers in the U.S. economy. Minnesota corporations signing on to the letter to Congress included Target, Mayo Clinic, EcoLab, 3M and Medtronic. The letter concluded
“America’s international competitors understand that attracting workforce talent from around the world is vital to economic success, and many are rewriting their immigration policies accordingly. Some have gone so far as to say that the United States’ reticent attitude toward foreign workers has created an opportunity for other countries to secure the economic benefits derived from those workers. As Congress and the administration consider proposals for changes in the immigration laws and/or enforcement strategies regarding existing laws, we urge you to consider these benefits to American workers, companies, communities, and the American economy.”
Contact:
John Keller, Executive Director
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
450 North Syndicate Street, Suite 200
St. Paul, MN 55104 St. Paul, MN 55104
(651) 641-1011
john.keller@ilcm.org (cell: 651-428-1402)
FFI:
- Dan Newhouse press release https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/newhouse-gop-members-congress-urge-action-daca
- Video of 11/9 Newhouse press conference – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq9p2Lfvksc (Representative Paulsen statement begins at 21:11, but is cut off after just a few words.)
- HR Policy Association’s letter to Washington policymakers – http://www.hrpolicy.org/downloads/2017/Immigration_Letter_to_Policymakers.pdf