GOP plan would kill immigrants’ American dreams

By Dina Titus

Sunday, April 17, 2016 | 2 a.m.

If we don’t reform our broken immigration system, Las Vegas will lose a valuable asset to the community: its people.

Ask Aida Lopez and her five children.

With dreams of building a better life, Lopez left Mexico for Las Vegas in 1996 with her husband, Moises, and first-born child. The family made a commitment to Las Vegas once they arrived. The couple had four more children, found jobs and integrated into American life.

Our nation’s current immigration policies, though, upended their lives.

In 2014, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Moises because of his undocumented status. Lopez hasn’t heard from her husband since. No one is certain if he is dead or alive.

ICE let Lopez temporarily stay in the U.S. because of her American-born children.

Lopez, who works as a housekeeper, is the sole provider for her family and is fighting her own deportation to Mexico, which would result in the de facto deportation of her kids.

My office has worked with ICE since 2014 to keep Lopez in Nevada and her children in their own country. We have seen Lopez’s family cope with the anxiety and stress brought about by our nation’s inadequate immigration policies. One thing is certain: they are not alone. More than 210,000 undocumented immigrants live in Nevada. Ten percent of our workforce is made of undocumented immigrants and 17.7 percent of public school students have at least one undocumented parent.

What would help quell their worst fears are President Barack Obama’s 2014 executive actions on immigration. Republicans are attempting to block those measures in the Supreme Court with a lawsuit supported by officials in Nevada and in 22 other GOP-led states.

On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear the first round of arguments on the president’s actions.

Known as expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA), these measures could provide relief to more than 5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who meet strict criteria outlined by the Department of Homeland Security. They would allow certain undocumented parents and children to have temporary protections from deportation and opportunities to apply for work permits after Homeland Security officials conduct background checks and case-by-case reviews of applicants.

Nevada is missing out on $3 billion worth of tax revenue over the next 10 years that would be generated if the DACA/DAPA actions were in place, according to a new study by the Center for American Progress. If enacted, the center’s data say, the state’s GDP would rise by $2.5 billion and residents would gain $1.3 billion in wages over the next decade.

Regardless of the court’s decision, the president’s actions are not an endgame. They are only a first step toward a better solution. Congress must pass comprehensive immigration reform so people can come out of the shadows, contribute fully to our society and economy, and fulfill their own potential. Unfortunately, to date the Republicans have refused to bring an immigration bill to the floor for a vote.

This is shameful. Our community cannot afford to lose its people. Families such as Lopez’s deserve a shot at the American dream — not a GOP-driven nightmare.

Dina Titus is the United States representative for Nevada’s Congressional District 1.