The DREAM Act would help the United States meet our future labor needs.
Þ It is estimated that America will need 5%, or 15.6 million, more workers by 2015 to maintain the current ratio of workers to the total population.[i]
Þ Within the next ten years, there will be demand for 200,000 workers annually in computer related disciplines. Current rates show that American students fill only 56,000 of these.[ii]
Þ DREAM Act students include many motivated high achievers who have been educated here in the U.S. The DREAM Act would reduce the need to recruit foreign professionals from abroad.
Þ Instead of competing for skilled workers with other countries, the DREAM Act will enable the U.S. to train and utilize students already here. For decades, U.S. high tech companies attracted engineers, computer programmers and other professionals from around the globe. Now they are experiencing a reverse brain drain as skilled workers flock to the booming economies of China and India.[iii]
The DREAM Act would increase revenue to state, federal, and local governments.
Þ According to the 2002 Census Bureau, a high school graduate earns $1.2 million in a 40-year span compared to $2.1 million for a person with a Bachelor's degree. A person with a master's degree has an average earning of $2.5 million in a 40-year span.
Þ Therefore, a single person with a bachelor's degree who earns an average $60,000 of taxable income will contribute $9,640 to taxes and welfare annually; in a 40-year span he/she will have contributed $385,000.
The DREAM Act is urgently needed for the talented youth graduating high school yearly.
Þ Approximately 65,000 students graduate from U.S. high schools each year who have been in the United States more than 5 years, but face limited prospects for completing their education or working legally in the U.S. because they were brought here at a young age without immigration documents.[iv]
Þ 50,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in higher education institutions across the U.S. who are eligible for the DREAM Act. They are educating themselves in hopes of DREAM Act passage so they legalize their status and pursue their dreams.
Þ Currently, only a fraction of undocumented students who graduated from high school go on to college, compared to most of their classmates.
