As reported by the Center for American Progress (CAP), 10 states suing to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program stand to lose billions of dollars if they “win” their lawsuit. These states are arguing that they will lose money if DACA continues because of speculative costs of education, health and law enforcement. But CAP notes, “It is undisputable, however, that the 10 states suing to end the program have all benefited from the presence of DACA recipients and stand to lose a lot if their lawsuit succeeds.” In fact:

• “The 10 plaintiff states would collectively lose an estimated $7.4 billion in annual gross domestic product (GDP) by forcing DACA recipients out of the labor force.” Texas alone stands to lose $6 billion in annual GDP.
• In addition, the plaintiff states stand to lose $311 million in state and local tax revenue that they currently receive from DACA recipients and those eligible to enroll in the program.
• Across the country, terminating DACA would reduce overall state and local revenues by $700 million and would cause the loss of tens of billions of dollars in annual GDP by removing DACA recipients from the labor force.

As CAP puts it, “If their lawsuit succeeds, they would not only harm themselves, but every other state in the country.” For more on this head-smacking act by these states, read the rest of the piece here.

This post was originally published on the Coalition on Human Needs' blog, Voices for Human Needs. Receive similar articles in your inbox by subscribing today, and follow CHN on Facebook and Twitter.