Worcester Business Journal: Worcester officials push for immigrant protections

State and local organizations and institutions are calling for protections to thousands of young undocumented immigrants who were previously safe from deportation thanks to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

According to business leaders and advocacy groups, repealing the law, which would take effect in March, would hurt the local economy.

If the roughly 8,000 DACA recipients in Massachusetts were forced to leave the country, the state economy would lose at least $24 million in tax revenue, said David Jordan, president of the Seven Hills Foundation.

“A pretty dramatic effect,” he said.

DACA is a program founded by former President Barack Obama granting protection from deportation and work permits to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country before 2007 as minors under the age of 16.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced earlier this month the program would be rescinded and officially ended in six months, allowing Congress to enact a law to protect the approximately 800,000 DACA recipients in the country.

In addition to the Seven Hills Foundation, all of the state’s community colleges, including Quinsigamond Community College and Mount Wachusett Community College, have called for measures to protect those with DACA status.

Read the full story from Worcester Business Journal: “Worcester officials push for immigrant protections”