“As we’ve seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most vulnerable communities are people who are Dreamers and many of our nation’s undocumented youth already have limited resources — we want to mitigate that by providing emergency aid funds,” said Maite Arce, HAF president and CEO. “When DACA was first established, it provided Dreamers the ability to go to school, have a job, have a driver’s license, etc. Now, many Dreamers are in school, have a degree, or are serving in the military. They are a part of our community, and contribute to our country’s prosperity.” 

Over the next 10 years, Dreamers will contribute an estimated $433 billion to the GDP, $60 billion in fiscal impact, and $12.3 billion in tax dollars directly to Social Security and Medicare if they are allowed to continue to work legally in the U.S. Even though the Supreme Court has allowed DACA to continue, there are new burdens being placed on the program that create more financial challenges, such as the annual renewal fee. Dreamers are those whose parents brought them into the United States before their 16th birthday without proper documentation, and were under the age of 31 in 2012.

HAF is launching Our DREAMS Scholarship with a fundraising campaign from October to November to raise up to $50,000 to directly assist at least 100 Dreamers, those partially protected (TPS) and undocumented students. HAF plans to turn the Our DREAMS Scholarship into a sustaining resource for Dreamers and provide hope during this time of turmoil.