Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf is urging Congress to preserve a program being ended by the Trump administration that protects immigrants living in the U.S. illegally after they arrived as children.
In a letter sent Thursday, Wolf says beneficiaries of the DACA program are part of many communities and shouldn’t be deported.
“They contribute to our economy through their labor, their support of local businesses and their taxes, although they do not qualify for public benefits,” Wolf stated in the letter.
Wolf also said these people know no other country after growing up in the United States. According to the Migration Policy Institute, over 7,000 young Pennsylvanians have benefited from DACA so far and about 8,000 additional young people are currently eligible to apply.
Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro joined officials from 14 states and D.C. in suing to block President Trump’s plan to end the program.
