PHOENIX — Phoenix and Mesa were ranked among the top 25 cities that would benefit from the passing of the American Dream and Promise Act.
A Center for American Progress report released last month found that Phoenix was the No. 4 city that would benefit, topped by Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago, with Mesa coming in at No. 25.
The Dream and Promise Act, also known as H.R. 6, would create a path to legalization and ultimately citizenship for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children who qualify for the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program.
To be eligible for the Dream and Promise Act, dreamers must have lived in the U.S. for at least four years prior to the bill’s enactment date. They must also complete education requirements, pass a background check and have been under 18 years old when they arrived in the U.S.
The bill would also create a path to citizenship for people with temporary protected status or who are eligible for deferred enforced departure, a program that allows people to obtain work permits and travel out of the country but does not currently lead to legal status.
The Center for American Progress analyzed Census Bureau data from 2012 to 2016 and found that 31,000 people in Phoenix would be eligible for the bill’s benefits, as would 4,800 in Mesa.
According to the report, those people’s households contributed an annual average of $132.7 million in federal taxes in Phoenix, owned 2,700 homes there and paid an average of $19.6 million in annual mortgage payments.
In Mesa, households with an eligible person contributed an annual average of $21.6 million in federal taxes, and those eligible owned 500 homes and paid an average of $4 million in annual mortgage payments.
Maricopa County came in at No. 7 in a ranking of counties that would benefit most from the bill’s passing, with 48,700 people eligible for protection.
“DACA recipients, TPS and DED holders are part of our community — our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends,” U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona, a co-sponsor of the American Dream and Promise Act, said in a press release Monday.
“They are woven into the social and economic fabric of our entire region, and we have a responsibility to make sure they can continue to contribute and participate fully without fear. When our Dreamers succeed, our communities will be stronger.”