--- title: DACA: President Trump Is Threatening the American Dream description: Four formerly undocumented legislators write: removing these protections will force thousands of young Americans back into the shadows canonical: https://time.com/4934059/trump-daca-undocumented-state-representatives/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-08T19:48:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:44:45.059Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Donald Trump Is Threatening the American Dream og:description: 4 formerly undocumented state representatives respond to the President's DACA decision og:url: https://time.com/4934059/trump-daca-undocumented-state-representatives/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc21094ba63e0b154/6988dd13bc6cfcee203e3001/daca-donald-trump-undocumented-immigrants-congress-dreamers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4368 og:image:height: 2457 og:image:alt: Immigration Activists Rally Against President Trump's Decision To End DACA Program og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Is Threatening the American Dream twitter:description: 4 formerly undocumented state representatives respond to the President's DACA decision twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc21094ba63e0b154/6988dd13bc6cfcee203e3001/daca-donald-trump-undocumented-immigrants-congress-dreamers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 4 Formerly Undocumented State Representatives: Donald Trump Is Threatening the American Dream > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: DACA Recipient Reflects On Hurricane Harvey And Immigration Status [Watch (HLS stream): DACA Recipient Reflects On Hurricane Harvey And Immigration Status](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/D3Bujic4.m3u8) (2:33)  _Published 2017-09-05. DACA Recipient Reflects On Hurricane Harvey And Immigration Status_ by [Isela Blanc](https://time.com/author/isela-blanc/), [Cesar Chavez](https://time.com/author/cesar-chavez/), [Teresa Alonso Leon](https://time.com/author/teresa-alonso-leon/) and [Blanca Rubio](https://time.com/author/blanca-rubio/) Sep 8, 2017 7:48 PM UTC  Immigrants' rights demonstrators march in protest of President Trump's decision on DACA on September 7, 2017 in the Queens borough of New York City. Immigrants' rights demonstrators march in protest of President Trump's decision on DACA on September 7, 2017 in the Queens borough of New York City.John Moore—Getty Images by [Isela Blanc](https://time.com/author/isela-blanc/), [Cesar Chavez](https://time.com/author/cesar-chavez/), [Teresa Alonso Leon](https://time.com/author/teresa-alonso-leon/) and [Blanca Rubio](https://time.com/author/blanca-rubio/) Sep 8, 2017 7:48 PM UTC As state legislators, the four of us represent diverse communities. Yet we share something in common: We were all brought to this country as children by parents who wanted to provide a better life for their families. Each of us spent time in our young lives without documents. Our stories vary — we grew up in different states, our lives took different paths — but this country gave us the opportunity to get an education, to work hard, to gain citizenship and to eventually run for office. It is that opportunity that makes America beautiful. Being elected to represent our communities felt like the [true culmination of the American dream](http://time.com/daca-dream-act-jose-antonio-vargas-time-cover-revisited/) — and the idea that anyone who works hard and contributes to their community can succeed. Donald Trump was elected president the same night that we were first elected to serve as legislators, and we knew this would give new meaning to our first terms in office. President Trump has now announced his [intention](http://time.com/4927495/donald-trump-statement-daca-rescind/) to end the [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals](http://time.com/4931516/daca-donald-trump-tweet-worry/) program, and kicked the decision to the [federal legislature](http://time.com/4928610/trump-daca-congress-dreamers/?iid=sr-link6). We wish to make clear to leaders in Congress and the White House what this would mean: ending the dreams of a generation. DACA recipients, known as “[Dreamers](http://time.com/4928812/donald-trump-dreamers-daca/),” are 800,000 of the hardest-working young Americans in this country. Like us, they were brought to this country as children by parents who dreamed of a better future. Like us, this is the only country they call home. [DACA](http://time.com/4930020/trump-daca-states-dc-lawsuit/) is not just ink on a piece of paper — it’s also the opportunity to aspire to a better job, to earn higher wages and to have better working conditions, as well as the ability to buy a car or even own a home (which, yes, leads to increased state and local tax revenue). [Dreamers](http://time.com/4927825/spotify-dreamer-playlist-daca/) enrich and strengthen our cities, states, schools, businesses, congregations and families. If Republicans and the Trump Administration remove these protections from Dreamers, thousands of young Americans would be forced back into the shadows. Families would be torn apart; jobs would be lost; academic careers would be interrupted; communities would be made less safe. We’ve invested in these Dreamers already. We must respect their potential and give them the chance to succeed and return that investment by contributing to the country as adults. For a politician to toy with the futures of so many young people is unconscionable. But when you consider the [impact](http://time.com/money/4928394/daca-economic-cost-trump/) that repeal would have on our economy, it’s also reckless. The progressive think tank the Center for American Progress estimated that [ending DACA](https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2016/09/21/144363/the-economic-impacts-of-removing-unauthorized-immigrant-workers/) would wipe away at least $433.4 billion from our nation’s GDP. Dreamers are not eligible to receive federal benefits like food stamps or financial aid, but they do pay taxes — the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that Dreamers payover $1.2 billion annually in federal, state and local taxes. That’s $1.2 billion that may disappear from our budgets if President Trump repeals this program. It’s time to put politics aside and do the right thing for our communities by giving Dreamers the certainty and respect they deserve. The four of us chose to enter public service because we want to give back by protecting the very best of what America represents: opportunity, hard work and caring for your neighbor. Our families started with very little, but in America, they were able to make it. Our communities — and our country — invested in us, and we felt that is was important to give back. We also know what it feels like to be in the shadows. We speak for the millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Dreamers who want to continue to make our communities thrive — and to do so openly. This country has given us incredible opportunities, and we are so proud of what we’ve been able to build. The next generation of Dreamers deserves the same opportunity. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4934059/trump-daca-undocumented-state-representatives/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4934059/trump-daca-undocumented-state-representatives/"},"headline":"4 Formerly Undocumented State Representatives: Donald Trump Is Threatening the American Dream","datePublished":"2017-09-08T19:48:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:44:45.059Z","description":"4 formerly undocumented state representatives respond to the President's DACA decision","url":"https://time.com/4934059/trump-daca-undocumented-state-representatives/","keywords":["DACA","Immigration"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc21094ba63e0b154/6988dd13bc6cfcee203e3001/daca-donald-trump-undocumented-immigrants-congress-dreamers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Isela Blanc","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/isela-blanc/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Cesar Chavez","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/cesar-chavez/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Teresa Alonso Leon","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/teresa-alonso-leon/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Blanca Rubio","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/blanca-rubio/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc21094ba63e0b154/6988dd13bc6cfcee203e3001/daca-donald-trump-undocumented-immigrants-congress-dreamers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Immigration Activists Rally Against President Trump's Decision To End DACA Program","caption":"Immigration Activists Rally Against President Trump's Decision To End DACA Program","creditText":"John Moore—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/daca/","name":"DACA"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4934059/trump-daca-undocumented-state-representatives/","name":"4 Formerly Undocumented State Representatives: Donald Trump Is Threatening the American Dream"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"DACA Recipient Reflects On Hurricane Harvey And Immigration Status","description":"DACA Recipient Reflects On Hurricane Harvey And Immigration Status","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/D3Bujic4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-09-05T20:06:58.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/D3Bujic4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4934059/trump-daca-undocumented-state-representatives/","duration":"PT2M33S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4934059/trump-daca-undocumented-state-representatives/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```