WASHINGTON – The National Retail Federation applauded Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“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,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “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 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.

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.