A Heartless Decision

Amidst growing anti-immigrant rhetoric that's harming our communities and our economy, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has dealt a cruel blow. They ruled against the President’s Executive Action on Immigration which would have protected millions of immigrant families from separation and allowed them to be more visible in their ongoing <span class="profanity">contributions</span> to our country’s economy.

However, the fight isn't over. We still have a chance to stand up for fair treatment of immigrant families and for our economy.

To be clear, taking action is important for our families and also for our economy. Research shows that immigrants play a large and important role in our economy, founding many of our largest companies, as well as building small businesses that fuel our economy. [1] In fact, an estimated 30 percent of the small business growth over the last two decades was driven by immigrants — and studies also show that immigrants are more than twice as likely to start a businesses as U.S.-born citizens. [2,3] Immigrants or the children of immigrants founded more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies. [4]

The executive action included two key programs: The expansion of a program for DREAMers (youth and young adults who came to the U.S. as children without documentation), and the establishment of a new program that would help undocumented immigrant parents and others - who meet certain criteria - to not be separated from their loved ones, as well as to work legally. (The programs are called DACA and DAPA, respectively.)

But before these programs could be implemented, a number of governors and attorneys general challenged the executive action by bringing a lawsuit against it. Legal scholars say this politically motivated lawsuit has no legal merit. And leading economists have calculated that the two programs would add $90 billion to the nation's economy in an expanded workforce and payroll taxes.

Help me tell the DOJ to move as quickly as possible to appeal this anti-immigrant lawsuit so that it can go before the Supreme Court!

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[1] "The Shocking Stats About Who’s Really Starting Companies in America," Fast Company. <http://www.fastcompany.com/3015616/the-shocking-stats-about-whos-really-starting-companies-in-america>
[2] "Immigrant Small Business Owners," Fiscal Policy Institute. <http://www.fiscalpolicy.org/immigrant-small-business-owners-FPI-20120614.pdf>
[3] Ibid.
[4] "Report: New American Fortune 500," Partnership for a New American Economy. <http://www.renewoureconomy.org/research/new-american-fortune-500/>