There are an estimated 81,000 LGBT Dreamers in the U.S., including 39,000 who have participated in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), according to an updated report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. The majority of LGBT DACA recipients live in California, Texas, Illinois, New York, and Florida.
Created in 2012, the DACA program allows undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before the age of 16, and meet other requirements, temporary work authorization and protection from deportation for a renewable two-year period.
The Supreme Court today blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to end the program.
“Undocumented LGBT young adults are a particularly vulnerable population,” said lead study author Kerith J. Conron, the Blachford-Cooper Distinguished Scholar and Research Director at the Williams Institute. “DACA helps many of them to get an education, find employment, and support themselves and their families while contributing to the U.S. economy.”