Retailers applaud ‘landmark’ Supreme Court ruling

The decision by the Supreme Court to reject President Trump’s plan to end a program that protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation was hailed by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is an Obama-era program that allowed undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. before they were 16 years old (“Dreamers”) to obtain work permits and protections from deportation. The NRF was among more than 140 businesses and trade associations that filed a friend-of-the-court brief last year asking the Supreme Court to uphold DACA. 

NRF has argued that ending the program would upend the lives of young immigrants, lead to businesses losing valuable talent, and cause disruptions in the workforce.

“This is a landmark ruling that inherently recognizes that these young people are law-abiding, tax-paying Americans who have never known adult life anywhere else,” stated NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. “They are both valued workers and, in many cases, entrepreneurs and business owners. Some of them are healthcare workers fighting to protect our nation against the coronavirus pandemic. An adverse decision would have inflicted significant harm on individuals, businesses and the U.S. economy. Even with this ruling, it is still important for Congress to pass legislation permanently protecting these individuals so their future will never be in question again.”

NRF is a member of the Coalition for the American Dream, which has estimated that national gross domestic product would lose between $350 billion and $460 billion if the DACA program ended, and that tax revenues would be reduced by approximately $90 billion over a decade.