The following statement can be attributed to Evan Engstrom, Engine Executive Director, in response to the Trump administration’s announcement this week that it is rescinding protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.
“Engine, like so many others, opposes the Trump administration’s decision to rescind DACA, a move that will put the wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of people -- and the communities they’re a part of -- at risk.
“As a group that works so closely with the U.S. startup ecosystem, we understand the American dream as well as anyone. Protections under DACA gave nearly 800,000 law-abiding people who came to this country as children a shot at the American dream. And as a recent study shows, they pursued that dream, with 97 percent of the DACA recipients sampled employed or enrolled in school and expected to contribute $460 billion to U.S. GDP over the next ten years, including by starting new businesses.
“These people came out of the shadows for the chance to improve their lives, as well as the lives of their loved ones, without constant fear of being deported. Our communities, our economy, and our lives are better off thanks to them.
“It is unacceptable for the U.S. to turn its back on these people now. We stand ready to work with Congress to fix the country’s immigration system and prevent the harmful deportation of the hundreds of thousands of people.”
