There have been a lot of numbers and bullchips flying around regarding the economic impact of passing the DREAM Act.
Here is a link to a study by the North American Integration and Development Center NO DREAMers Left Behind
The study was prepared by Raul Hinojosa Ojeda and Paule Cruz Takash with
Gerardo Castillo, Gilmar Flores, Adriana Monroy
and Delroy Sargeant.
Dr. Raul Hinjosa- Ojeda is an Associate Professor of The UCLA Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies and the César E. Chávez Center For Interdisciplinary Instruction. Born in Mexico and raised in Chicago, he received a B.A. (Economics), M.A. (Anthropology) and Ph.D. (Political Science) at the University of Chicago.
The gist of this study is that the major economic impact of the DREAM Act comes from its requirement that candidates have at least an Associate's degree to be eligible... which is linked to higher income over a 40 year working life and therefore more taxes paid, etc. The study estimates the totsl impact to be $3.6 Trillion Dollars.
A couple of other points for those who would label these very bright and very dedicated and hard working young people "illegal" and advocate sending them back where they come from..even if they have never been there since they were very young or born..
Most, if not all of these young DREAMers have managed to juggle working in the underground economy with paying tuition (NO Pell Grants or loans for them)in the states they reside in... They are facing daunting obstacles if they want to continue on to grad school... and we are talking future biochemists, engineers, scientists, doctors...people who will make more than minimal contributions to our nation in the challenging years ahead...
In case you have not been paying attention, China is poised to lead the world in scientific innovation by 2020 according to this Reuters report
If we fail to pass the DREAM Act now... and these young people are forced to leave the US... a couple of them are already in ICE custody... we all lose... we lose from their future contributions and we lose what has already been invested in getting them to the point they are now in their educations... and the operational word here is INVESTED... it will only be money spent if they take their knowledge, skills and intelligence to another country...