Monthly Peace
from Global Immersion
Each month you can count on this email to bring you resources, tools and inspiration to feed your journey as an Everyday Peacemaker.
The past month has been marked by traumatic events: Charlottesville, Hurricane Harvey, the Nashville Statement, the threat of DACA ending. While we don't have answers to the many problems our country is experiencing, we have a conviction that as Everyday Peacemakers we have to get creative in love to mend the divides in our conflicted world.
Below is a collection of resources that have helped us process and navigate a few of the difficult events our country has seen in the last 30 days.
read, listen, reflect...
The political polarization of this moment is unprecedented. As followers of Jesus, how do we engage? read blog >>
To my Christian sisters and brothers; an observation and proposal.I’m convinced there is a disease plaguing our communities, dinner tables and social media interactions. It is short-circuiting how we SEE and HEAR those with different perspectives, experiences and worldview. It is toxic and the infection is growing.
Rather than listen to difference (within our own Christian family!) through the lens of the Kingdom, we are first listening through the lens of political partisanship. We quickly want to categorize our family, friends and community mates as “right” or “left” and then make the assumptions that naturally follow. This not only hijacks generative discourse and collaboration, it is a symptom of putting our national allegiance ahead of our Kingdom allegiance. Jesus has been enthroned as king of the kingdom and his life and teachings should be our normative framework for how we live, love and lead.
This is deeply troubling. Personally, it makes me weary and uninspired. That said, it only deepens my conviction to lean into the hard conversations and conflicts as way we unearth the beauty of a kingdom that transcends any pseudo-security, safety and power we strive for in the kingdoms of this world. It also reminds me of how costly it will be for those who choose to keep our eyes and ears open to the building of a kingdom where the last will be first and the first will be last. The critique of those in our own Christian “family” is often the most painful, but expect that it will be part of the journey.
A proposal:
What if the FIRST filter through which we see and hear isn’t a political platform, but the values and reality of the kingdom of God as embodied in Jesus? This sounds elementary and assumed, but I believe it is the antidote (at least in part) to the disease that is infecting our hearts, relationships and collective witness in our world.
This is a muscle that requires regular training. It is the hard work of discipleship.
Rather than dehumanizing difference as a political “enemy,” we listen longer than is comfortable and consider what we might have to learn.
Rather than defending our personal blindspots, we invite others (who look, think and act different that us) to shine a light on them so we can confront our own brokenness and grow in generosity and conviction.
Rather than “listening” only as a means to offer a rebuttal/defense, we listen in order to get curious and ask good questions.
Rather than only choosing to highlight our sharp differences in political platform, we look for glimpses of commonality that lead to kingdom collaboration.Do any of you resonate with this experience? What would you add to a constructive way forward?
About the Author:
Jon Huckins is the Co-founding Director of The Global Immersion Project. More of his reflections and writings can be found on his website.
Rev. Traci Blackmon
"Our nation is in a moral and political crisis.
We are witnessing the last fledgling breaths of a false racial construct whose time has come to an end..."continue reading »
Rev. Traci Blackmon, executive minister of Justice and Witness at United Church of Christ and pastor at Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, was a member of the clergy who traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia to bear witness at the Unite the Right rally.
Last weekend I joined the courageous people of Charlottesville, Virginia who gathered, first in the sanctuary and then in the streets, to offer an alternative message to the hate-filled rhetoric of thousands of white nationalists who gathered in the city’s Emancipation Park under the pretense of protesting the scheduled removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee.
Friday night, people of various faiths gathered for worship in St. Paul’s Memorial Church to spiritually prepare ourselves, in the tradition of the Civil Rights marches of the ‘60s, to serve as faithful witnesses to love the next day.
The sanctuary and overflow room were filled to capacity. We sang. We prayed. We heard encouraging words, and I preached a sermon based on 1 Samuel 17 titled, “Where Are The Dreamers?”
Shortly before the benediction, we were informed that a mob of white supremacists were marching toward the church with lighted torches, and we would not be permitted to leave due to the high probability of assault. We were held hostage inside of the church by this raging mob for approximately 30 minutes.
Outside, there was a small group of University of Virginia students who were standing against the mob in non-violent resistance. They were beaten and taunted. Just this morning I’ve received a request to pray for Tyler Magill, who works for UVA, and who came to the aid of the students being attacked on Friday night. In doing so, he was struck in the neck by a Tiki torch and it damaged his carotid artery. He suffered a stroke and is now in the ICU.
When we were finally allowed and encouraged to quickly leave the church we were ushered out of side and rear doors into an alley and quickly into cars.
As we made our way through the area, I began to weep as I saw masses of mostly young white men, clad in Polos and Oxford button-downs with neatly coifed hair and many donning “Make America Great Again” caps, filling the streets. They carried torches in one hand and many held baseball bats in the other, chanting “Blood and Soil,” a reference to racial purity and dominance that was birthed out of the Hitler regime.
They also chanted, “You will not replace us,” “Jews will not replace us,” “White lives matter” and “Whose streets? Our streets” which, ironically, was birthed in the streets of Ferguson.
My tears were not tears of fear, but tears of mourning. It is a sad moment in our nation – and yet not an unpredictable one given the current social and political tone of this presidential administration.
I cried because I recognized this moment, not as an escalation of white supremacy in this nation, but rather as its death rattle. And I know that the dying breaths of white supremacy will be long and arduous and violent. I know that there will be casualties on all sides.
‘The promises of Donald Trump’
Ultimately, people are responsible for their own actions, and yet our national leadership bears a moral responsibility to set the tone of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in our nation. I recognized the rage-filled chants of these men in the streets as the primal echoes of self-preservation that give voice to the intent of legislative policies being crafted and quietly implemented while we react to the screams.
I wonder might this be what former KKK leader and white supremacist David Duke meant when he said, “We are determined to take our country back. We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump."
For eight years, public disrespect of the first black U.S. president was not only tolerated by ranking GOP officials, but it was celebrated and promoted. This disrespect laid the ground work for a presidential campaign and election rooted in the promotion of racial, ethnic and religious bias.
The Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University found that the number of hate crimes rose 21 percent in major metropolitan areas in 2016 from the previous year. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of hate groups nationally rose for the second year in a row last year, with the number of anti-Muslim groups tripling from 2015 to 2016.
I am not suggesting that this president initiated any of these groups. Clearly, White nationalism has been here since the taking of Native land.
President Trump's hateful rhetoric – categorizing entire groups of people as violent, unwanted, and undeserving of America – has given a new legitimacy to some who feel they can express attitudes which had once been discredited, but now seem again permissible.
I am stating unequivocally that this president’s hateful rhetoric and the focus of GOP policies in this current administration have stoked and exploited fears in ways that embolden white supremacist groups.
Between toxic tweets, travel bans, and assaults on voting rights, immigration rights, LGBT rights and environmental protections, there are many factors shaping an environment that gives license to hate and harass and make America, once again, a safe place to hate.
We must react to these violently demonstrable assaults on the moral fiber of our nation. But, beyond reacting, we must also respond. We must be focused, strategic, and proactive in our engagement with this administration.
What are we not paying attention to while we are reacting to death rattles, toxic tweets and incoherent temper tantrums from the highest office in this land?
For instance, the president’s third set of comments about white supremacists in Charlottesville were attached to the end of an announcement concerning an executive order to substantially reduce environmental protections on building infrastructure. But we are not talking about that because our attention is averted by our reactions to Trump’s incendiary rant.
We must react and respond
Our nation is in a spiritual, moral and political crisis.
We are witnessing the last fledgling breaths of a false racial construct whose time has come to an end, and although the death will be long and tortuous for everyone, death will ultimately come.
Our strategy must be to not only be reactionary to the primal flailing of neo-Nazi fascists, but responsive and proactive regarding legislative actions that are literally crafted by our enemies to take America back again.
Rev. Traci Blackmon is executive minister of Justice and Witness at United Church of Christ and pastor at Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant.
We are proud to learn from and walk alongside our dreamer friends who have received DACA. Their future is uncertain and our collective flourishing is on the line.
read how DACA has improved lives and the economy»
IMMIGRATION
DACA Recipients’ Economic and Educational Gains Continue to Grow
By Tom K. Wong, Greisa Martinez Rosas, Adam Luna, Henry Manning, Adrian Reyna, Patrick O’Shea, Tom Jawetz, and Philip E. Wolgin
AP/Craig RuttleActivists supporting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and other immigration issues gather near Trump Tower in New York, August 2017.
Note: The survey results can be found here. For more information on the survey, please contact Tom K. Wong.
Since it was first announced on June 15, 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals(DACA) policy has provided temporary relief from deportation as well as work authorization to approximately 800,000 undocumented young people across the country. As research has consistently shown, DACA has not only improved the lives of undocumented young people and their families but has also positively affected the economy more generally, which benefits all Americans.
From August 1, 2017 to August 20, 2017, Tom K. Wong of the University of California, San Diego; United We Dream (UWD); the National Immigration Law Center (NILC); and the Center for American Progress fielded a national survey to further analyze the economic, employment, educational, and societal experiences of DACA recipients. This is the largest study to date of DACA recipients with a sample size of 3,063 respondents in 46 states as well as the District of Columbia.
The data illustrate that DACA recipients continue to make positive and significant contributions to the economy, including earning higher wages, which translates into higher tax revenue and economic growth that benefits all Americans. In addition, DACA recipients are buying cars, purchasing their first homes, and even creating new businesses. The survey’s results also show that at least 72 percent of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies employ DACA recipients. Moreover, 97 percent of respondents are currently employed or enrolled in school.
DACA’s impact on employment
Work authorization is critical in helping DACA recipients participate more fully in the labor force. The data show that 91 percent of respondents are currently employed. Among respondents age 25 and older, employment jumps to 93 percent.
After receiving DACA, 69 percent of respondents reported moving to a job with better pay; 54 percent moved to a job that “better fits my education and training”; 54 percent moved to a job that “better fits my long-term career goals”; and 56 percent moved to a job with better working conditions.
We also see that 5 percent of respondents started their own business after receiving DACA. Among respondents 25 years and older, this climbs to 8 percent. As the 2016 survey noted, among the American public as a whole, the rate of starting a business is 3.1 percent, meaning that DACA recipients are outpacing the general population in terms of business creation.
As one respondent stated, “I started a bookkeeping business which gives me the opportunity to help our Hispanic community be in compliance with tax law […] If DACA ended, I will not be able to keep my small business and help my community.”
Another respondent stated, “Because of DACA, I opened a restaurant. We are contributing to the economic growth of our local community. We pay our fair share of taxes and hire employees […] It will be hard to maintain my business if DACA ended. I depend on my [social security number] for a lot of my business, such as when getting licenses, permits, leases, and credit.”
DACA’s impact on earnings
The data make clear that DACA is having a positive and significant effect on wages. The average hourly wage of respondents increased by 69 percent since receiving DACA, rising from $10.29 per hour to $17.46 per hour. Among respondents 25 years and older, the average hourly wage increased by 84 percent since receiving DACA.
The data also show that respondents’ average annual earnings come out to $36,232, and their median annual earnings total $32,000. Among respondents 25 years and older, the figures are $41,621 and $37,595, respectively. These higher wages are not just important for recipients and their families but also for tax revenues and economic growth at the local, state, and federal levels.
Last year, we noted that further research is needed to parse out the short- and long-run wage effects of DACA as well as whether short-run gains represent a plateau in earnings or if more robust long-run wage effects may exist. This remains true. However, as DACA recipients are now further along in their careers, and as we continue to see growth in their earnings, it is likely there is even more room for recipients’ wages to grow.
The immediate impact of wage increases is evident in 69 percent of survey respondents reporting that their increased earnings have “helped me become financially independent” and 71 percent reporting that their increased earnings have “helped my family financially.” Among respondents 25 years and older, these percentages rise to 73 percent and 74 percent, respectively.
DACA’s impact on the economy
The purchasing power of DACA recipients continues to increase. In the 2017 study, nearly two-thirds of respondents, or 65 percent, reported purchasing their first car. The average cost paid was $16,469. As we have noted previously, these large purchases matter in terms of state revenue, as most states collect a percentage of the purchase price in sales tax, along with additional registration and title fees. The added revenue for states comes in addition to the safety benefits of having more licensed and insured drivers on the roads.
The data also show that 16 percent of respondents purchased their first home after receiving DACA. Among respondents 25 years and older, this percentage rises to 24 percent. The broader positive economic effects of home purchases include the creation of jobs and the infusion of new spending in local economies.
Additionally—and importantly—the data show that at least 72 percent of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies—including Walmart, Apple, General Motors, Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot, and Wells Fargo, among others—employ DACA recipients. All told, these companies account for $2.8 trillion in annual revenue.
DACA’s impact on education
Overall, 45 percent of respondents are currently in school. Among those currently in school, 72 percent are pursuing a bachelor’s degree or higher. The majors and specializations that respondents report include accounting, biochemistry, business administration, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer science, early childhood education, economics, environmental science, history, law, mathematics, mechanical engineering, neuroscience, physics, psychology, and social work, to name a few.
When it comes to educational attainment, 36 percent of respondents 25 years and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Importantly, among those who are currently in school, a robust 94 percent said that, because of DACA, “I pursued educational opportunities that I previously could not.”
Conclusion
Our findings could not paint a clearer picture: DACA has been unreservedly good for the U.S. economy and for U.S. society more generally. Previous research has shown that DACA beneficiaries will contribute $460.3 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product over the next decade—economic growth that would be lost were DACA to be eliminated.
As our results show, the inclusion of these young people has contributed to more prosperous local, state and national economies; to safer and stronger communities through increased access to cars and home ownership; and to a more prepared and educated workforce for the future. Ending DACA now would be counterproductive at best and, at worst, cruel. At present, 800,000 lives—as well as the lives of their families and friends—hang in the balance. At a time when the continuing existence of DACA is facing its most serious threat ever, understanding the benefits of the program for recipients; their families and communities; and to the nation as a whole is all the more important.
Tom K. Wong is associate professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. Greisa Martinez Rosas is advocacy and policy director, Adam Luna is senior advisor for communications, Henry Manning is research fellow, and Adrian Reyna is director of membership and technology strategies at United We Dream. Patrick O’Shea is Mellon/ACLS public fellow at the National Immigration Law Center. Tom Jawetz is vice president for Immigration Policy and Philip E. Wolgin is managing director for Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress.
The authors thank all those who took the survey for their time and effort in helping to bring these stories to light.
Methodology
The questionnaire was administered to an online panel of DACA recipients recruited by the partner organizations. Several steps were taken to account for the known sources of bias that result from such online panels. To prevent ballot stuffing—one person submitting multiple responses—the authors did not offer an incentive to respondents for taking the questionnaire and used a state-of-the-art online survey platform that does not allow one IP address to submit multiple responses. To prevent spoiled ballots—meaning, people responding who are not undocumented—the authors used a unique validation test for undocumented status. Multiple questions were asked about each respondent’s migratory history. These questions were asked at different parts of the questionnaire. When repeated, the questions were posed using different wording. If there was agreement in the answers such that there was consistency regarding the respondent’s migratory history, the respondent was kept in the resulting pool of respondents. If not, the respondent was excluded. In order to recruit respondents outside of the networks of the partner organizations, Facebook ads were also used. Because there is no phone book of undocumented immigrants, and given the nature of online opt-in surveys, it is not possible to construct a valid margin of error.
Jer Swigart
"Any Jesus who encourages us to be nice, be moral, and be safe, is not worth our lives. It’s time to interrogate our Jesus for the credibility of American Christianity is on the clock.”
watch Jer's sermon »
In less than a month, Mending the Divides: Creative Love in an Conflicted World will be released. Because we believe that this book needs to be in as many hands as soon as possible, we are encouraging you to pre-order it (hint: Amazon usually ships the books so they arrive to you ON the release date).
This week, if you pre-order Mending the Divides and forward us your confirmation email (from Amazon or IVPress.com; forward it to info@globalimmerse.org) we will mail you our Everyday Peacemaking Workbook for FREE. This workbook offers a tangible framework and exercises that seeks to land peacemaking from lofty idealism to an embodied way of life.
Connect further with Global Immersion...
NATIONAL BOOK TOUR: We have kicked off our national book tour and you can personally meet Jer and/or Jon at launch parties in the Bay Area, Salinas/Monterey, San Diego, Minneapolis, Chicago and Seattle over the next few months. If you want to attend or are interested in hosting one yourself, contact us HERE.
Join a community of active members igniting the Everyday Peacemaking movement and sustain the world-changing work of Global Immersion.
"Our nation is in a moral and political crisis.
We are witnessing the last fledgling breaths of a false racial construct whose time has come to an end..."continue reading »
Rev. Traci Blackmon, executive minister of Justice and Witness at United Church of Christ and pastor at Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, was a member of the clergy who traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia to bear witness at the Unite the Right rally.
Last weekend I joined the courageous people of Charlottesville, Virginia who gathered, first in the sanctuary and then in the streets, to offer an alternative message to the hate-filled rhetoric of thousands of white nationalists who gathered in the city’s Emancipation Park under the pretense of protesting the scheduled removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee.
Friday night, people of various faiths gathered for worship in St. Paul’s Memorial Church to spiritually prepare ourselves, in the tradition of the Civil Rights marches of the ‘60s, to serve as faithful witnesses to love the next day.
The sanctuary and overflow room were filled to capacity. We sang. We prayed. We heard encouraging words, and I preached a sermon based on 1 Samuel 17 titled, “Where Are The Dreamers?”
Shortly before the benediction, we were informed that a mob of white supremacists were marching toward the church with lighted torches, and we would not be permitted to leave due to the high probability of assault. We were held hostage inside of the church by this raging mob for approximately 30 minutes.
Outside, there was a small group of University of Virginia students who were standing against the mob in non-violent resistance. They were beaten and taunted. Just this morning I’ve received a request to pray for Tyler Magill, who works for UVA, and who came to the aid of the students being attacked on Friday night. In doing so, he was struck in the neck by a Tiki torch and it damaged his carotid artery. He suffered a stroke and is now in the ICU.
When we were finally allowed and encouraged to quickly leave the church we were ushered out of side and rear doors into an alley and quickly into cars.
As we made our way through the area, I began to weep as I saw masses of mostly young white men, clad in Polos and Oxford button-downs with neatly coifed hair and many donning “Make America Great Again” caps, filling the streets. They carried torches in one hand and many held baseball bats in the other, chanting “Blood and Soil,” a reference to racial purity and dominance that was birthed out of the Hitler regime.
They also chanted, “You will not replace us,” “Jews will not replace us,” “White lives matter” and “Whose streets? Our streets” which, ironically, was birthed in the streets of Ferguson.
My tears were not tears of fear, but tears of mourning. It is a sad moment in our nation – and yet not an unpredictable one given the current social and political tone of this presidential administration.
I cried because I recognized this moment, not as an escalation of white supremacy in this nation, but rather as its death rattle. And I know that the dying breaths of white supremacy will be long and arduous and violent. I know that there will be casualties on all sides.
‘The promises of Donald Trump’
Ultimately, people are responsible for their own actions, and yet our national leadership bears a moral responsibility to set the tone of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in our nation. I recognized the rage-filled chants of these men in the streets as the primal echoes of self-preservation that give voice to the intent of legislative policies being crafted and quietly implemented while we react to the screams.
I wonder might this be what former KKK leader and white supremacist David Duke meant when he said, “We are determined to take our country back. We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump."
For eight years, public disrespect of the first black U.S. president was not only tolerated by ranking GOP officials, but it was celebrated and promoted. This disrespect laid the ground work for a presidential campaign and election rooted in the promotion of racial, ethnic and religious bias.
The Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University found that the number of hate crimes rose 21 percent in major metropolitan areas in 2016 from the previous year. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of hate groups nationally rose for the second year in a row last year, with the number of anti-Muslim groups tripling from 2015 to 2016.
I am not suggesting that this president initiated any of these groups. Clearly, White nationalism has been here since the taking of Native land.
President Trump's hateful rhetoric – categorizing entire groups of people as violent, unwanted, and undeserving of America – has given a new legitimacy to some who feel they can express attitudes which had once been discredited, but now seem again permissible.
I am stating unequivocally that this president’s hateful rhetoric and the focus of GOP policies in this current administration have stoked and exploited fears in ways that embolden white supremacist groups.
Between toxic tweets, travel bans, and assaults on voting rights, immigration rights, LGBT rights and environmental protections, there are many factors shaping an environment that gives license to hate and harass and make America, once again, a safe place to hate.
We must react to these violently demonstrable assaults on the moral fiber of our nation. But, beyond reacting, we must also respond. We must be focused, strategic, and proactive in our engagement with this administration.
What are we not paying attention to while we are reacting to death rattles, toxic tweets and incoherent temper tantrums from the highest office in this land?
For instance, the president’s third set of comments about white supremacists in Charlottesville were attached to the end of an announcement concerning an executive order to substantially reduce environmental protections on building infrastructure. But we are not talking about that because our attention is averted by our reactions to Trump’s incendiary rant.
We must react and respond
Our nation is in a spiritual, moral and political crisis.
We are witnessing the last fledgling breaths of a false racial construct whose time has come to an end, and although the death will be long and tortuous for everyone, death will ultimately come.
Our strategy must be to not only be reactionary to the primal flailing of neo-Nazi fascists, but responsive and proactive regarding legislative actions that are literally crafted by our enemies to take America back again.
- We must call upon every political representative – on local, state and federal levels – to publicly denounce white supremacy, not just with statements but with instituted policies.
- We must demand the restoration of the Voting Rights Act to its full power.
- We must organize and mobilize the masses in every election, sending a clear message to incumbents that either they will vote in the best interest of the people or we will vote against them.
- We must oppose the RAISE Act and defend DACA.
- We must demand comprehensive criminal justice reform.
- We must urge reengagement with the Paris Agreement on climate change.
- We must implement a public platform of coalition building, inclusiveness, unity, and love.
- We must challenge the erection of border walls.
- We must demand the de-escalation of warmongering rhetoric.
- We must lay out our expectations of a budget that is fiscally responsible and yet morally grounded.
Rev. Traci Blackmon is executive minister of Justice and Witness at United Church of Christ and pastor at Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant.
We are proud to learn from and walk alongside our dreamer friends who have received DACA. Their future is uncertain and our collective flourishing is on the line.
read how DACA has improved lives and the economy»
IMMIGRATION
DACA Recipients’ Economic and Educational Gains Continue to Grow
By Tom K. Wong, Greisa Martinez Rosas, Adam Luna, Henry Manning, Adrian Reyna, Patrick O’Shea, Tom Jawetz, and Philip E. Wolgin
AP/Craig RuttleActivists supporting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and other immigration issues gather near Trump Tower in New York, August 2017.
Note: The survey results can be found here. For more information on the survey, please contact Tom K. Wong.
Since it was first announced on June 15, 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals(DACA) policy has provided temporary relief from deportation as well as work authorization to approximately 800,000 undocumented young people across the country. As research has consistently shown, DACA has not only improved the lives of undocumented young people and their families but has also positively affected the economy more generally, which benefits all Americans.
From August 1, 2017 to August 20, 2017, Tom K. Wong of the University of California, San Diego; United We Dream (UWD); the National Immigration Law Center (NILC); and the Center for American Progress fielded a national survey to further analyze the economic, employment, educational, and societal experiences of DACA recipients. This is the largest study to date of DACA recipients with a sample size of 3,063 respondents in 46 states as well as the District of Columbia.
The data illustrate that DACA recipients continue to make positive and significant contributions to the economy, including earning higher wages, which translates into higher tax revenue and economic growth that benefits all Americans. In addition, DACA recipients are buying cars, purchasing their first homes, and even creating new businesses. The survey’s results also show that at least 72 percent of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies employ DACA recipients. Moreover, 97 percent of respondents are currently employed or enrolled in school.
DACA’s impact on employment
Work authorization is critical in helping DACA recipients participate more fully in the labor force. The data show that 91 percent of respondents are currently employed. Among respondents age 25 and older, employment jumps to 93 percent.
After receiving DACA, 69 percent of respondents reported moving to a job with better pay; 54 percent moved to a job that “better fits my education and training”; 54 percent moved to a job that “better fits my long-term career goals”; and 56 percent moved to a job with better working conditions.
We also see that 5 percent of respondents started their own business after receiving DACA. Among respondents 25 years and older, this climbs to 8 percent. As the 2016 survey noted, among the American public as a whole, the rate of starting a business is 3.1 percent, meaning that DACA recipients are outpacing the general population in terms of business creation.
As one respondent stated, “I started a bookkeeping business which gives me the opportunity to help our Hispanic community be in compliance with tax law […] If DACA ended, I will not be able to keep my small business and help my community.”
Another respondent stated, “Because of DACA, I opened a restaurant. We are contributing to the economic growth of our local community. We pay our fair share of taxes and hire employees […] It will be hard to maintain my business if DACA ended. I depend on my [social security number] for a lot of my business, such as when getting licenses, permits, leases, and credit.”
DACA’s impact on earnings
The data make clear that DACA is having a positive and significant effect on wages. The average hourly wage of respondents increased by 69 percent since receiving DACA, rising from $10.29 per hour to $17.46 per hour. Among respondents 25 years and older, the average hourly wage increased by 84 percent since receiving DACA.
The data also show that respondents’ average annual earnings come out to $36,232, and their median annual earnings total $32,000. Among respondents 25 years and older, the figures are $41,621 and $37,595, respectively. These higher wages are not just important for recipients and their families but also for tax revenues and economic growth at the local, state, and federal levels.
Last year, we noted that further research is needed to parse out the short- and long-run wage effects of DACA as well as whether short-run gains represent a plateau in earnings or if more robust long-run wage effects may exist. This remains true. However, as DACA recipients are now further along in their careers, and as we continue to see growth in their earnings, it is likely there is even more room for recipients’ wages to grow.
The immediate impact of wage increases is evident in 69 percent of survey respondents reporting that their increased earnings have “helped me become financially independent” and 71 percent reporting that their increased earnings have “helped my family financially.” Among respondents 25 years and older, these percentages rise to 73 percent and 74 percent, respectively.
DACA’s impact on the economy
The purchasing power of DACA recipients continues to increase. In the 2017 study, nearly two-thirds of respondents, or 65 percent, reported purchasing their first car. The average cost paid was $16,469. As we have noted previously, these large purchases matter in terms of state revenue, as most states collect a percentage of the purchase price in sales tax, along with additional registration and title fees. The added revenue for states comes in addition to the safety benefits of having more licensed and insured drivers on the roads.
The data also show that 16 percent of respondents purchased their first home after receiving DACA. Among respondents 25 years and older, this percentage rises to 24 percent. The broader positive economic effects of home purchases include the creation of jobs and the infusion of new spending in local economies.
Additionally—and importantly—the data show that at least 72 percent of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies—including Walmart, Apple, General Motors, Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot, and Wells Fargo, among others—employ DACA recipients. All told, these companies account for $2.8 trillion in annual revenue.
DACA’s impact on education
Overall, 45 percent of respondents are currently in school. Among those currently in school, 72 percent are pursuing a bachelor’s degree or higher. The majors and specializations that respondents report include accounting, biochemistry, business administration, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer science, early childhood education, economics, environmental science, history, law, mathematics, mechanical engineering, neuroscience, physics, psychology, and social work, to name a few.
When it comes to educational attainment, 36 percent of respondents 25 years and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Importantly, among those who are currently in school, a robust 94 percent said that, because of DACA, “I pursued educational opportunities that I previously could not.”
Conclusion
Our findings could not paint a clearer picture: DACA has been unreservedly good for the U.S. economy and for U.S. society more generally. Previous research has shown that DACA beneficiaries will contribute $460.3 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product over the next decade—economic growth that would be lost were DACA to be eliminated.
As our results show, the inclusion of these young people has contributed to more prosperous local, state and national economies; to safer and stronger communities through increased access to cars and home ownership; and to a more prepared and educated workforce for the future. Ending DACA now would be counterproductive at best and, at worst, cruel. At present, 800,000 lives—as well as the lives of their families and friends—hang in the balance. At a time when the continuing existence of DACA is facing its most serious threat ever, understanding the benefits of the program for recipients; their families and communities; and to the nation as a whole is all the more important.
Tom K. Wong is associate professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. Greisa Martinez Rosas is advocacy and policy director, Adam Luna is senior advisor for communications, Henry Manning is research fellow, and Adrian Reyna is director of membership and technology strategies at United We Dream. Patrick O’Shea is Mellon/ACLS public fellow at the National Immigration Law Center. Tom Jawetz is vice president for Immigration Policy and Philip E. Wolgin is managing director for Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress.
The authors thank all those who took the survey for their time and effort in helping to bring these stories to light.
Methodology
The questionnaire was administered to an online panel of DACA recipients recruited by the partner organizations. Several steps were taken to account for the known sources of bias that result from such online panels. To prevent ballot stuffing—one person submitting multiple responses—the authors did not offer an incentive to respondents for taking the questionnaire and used a state-of-the-art online survey platform that does not allow one IP address to submit multiple responses. To prevent spoiled ballots—meaning, people responding who are not undocumented—the authors used a unique validation test for undocumented status. Multiple questions were asked about each respondent’s migratory history. These questions were asked at different parts of the questionnaire. When repeated, the questions were posed using different wording. If there was agreement in the answers such that there was consistency regarding the respondent’s migratory history, the respondent was kept in the resulting pool of respondents. If not, the respondent was excluded. In order to recruit respondents outside of the networks of the partner organizations, Facebook ads were also used. Because there is no phone book of undocumented immigrants, and given the nature of online opt-in surveys, it is not possible to construct a valid margin of error.
Jer Swigart
"Any Jesus who encourages us to be nice, be moral, and be safe, is not worth our lives. It’s time to interrogate our Jesus for the credibility of American Christianity is on the clock.”
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