November 15, 2019

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week on the administration’s move to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The Chamber has long supported immigration policies that allow our businesses to legally access the workforce they need in order to grow. We have submitted letters in support of DACA as well as legislation to replace the program with a permanent solution for this population. With over 45,000 DACA recipients in San Diego, a population highly integrated into our workforce, terminating the program would result in a serious disruption to our economy. Removing Dreamers, as this population has come to be known, from the workforce would result in more than $460 billion in lost GDP nationwide over the next decade. In contrast, estimates show that passing legislation that creates an earned pathway to citizenship for Dreamers could add as much as $1trillion to the national GDP over that same period.

Nearly 800,000 individuals in the country have benefited from DACA and roughly 90% of all Dreamers have been able to join the workforce.

In 2017, the Trump Administration moved to rescind DACA, a decision followed by a series of legal challenges in federal courts considering the consequences of ending the program. As a result, the DACA program temporarily stayed in place, allowing recipients to continue to renew their status but indefinitely suspending new applications.

November 15, 2019

The Chamber remains optimistic and committed to securing congressional approval of the NAFTA update known as the USMCA.
The House Democrat’s USMCA working group continues to work to address their pending concerns on labor, enforcement, environmental, and prescription standards. Representative Richard Neal (MA), House Ways and Means Chairman and leader of the USMCA working group, traveled to Ottawa to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. They discussed pending concerns in a shared commitment to support the implementation of labor reforms in Mexico. Members of the working group have also traveled to Mexico and met with the President and his cabinet on Mexico’s commitment to implementing reforms to improve labor conditions and protections for workers.

In addition, the U.S.-Mexico Interparliamentary Group, chaired by Representative Henry Cuellar (TX), held their meeting in San Diego this month and focused discussions on the trilateral trade agreement. Several members of Congress who are undecided on the trade deal were in attendance and heard from Representative Scott Peters (CA) and Chamber Vice President of International Business Affairs Paola Avila, who highlighted components of the agreement critical to the economy.