California could be disproportionately affected if DACA is rescinded. Here’s why.

President Donald Trump is facing mounting pushback over his decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA.

Since 2012, the Obama-era program has granted temporary deportation relief and work permits to roughly 800,000 people, many of whom were brought to the US illegally as children.

If Congress fails to come up with a DACA replacement, the US economy could lose billions of dollars in the next decade, according to various studies. That economic impact likely won't be felt evenly across the country.

Nearly one out of every four DACA recipients — about 200,000 individuals — live in California, which means the state could be disporporationately affected economically. 

If these people are forced out of the workforce when their work permits expire, California could see a loss of economic activity on the order of millions and millions of dollars.

“I've been hearing fury and anger and outrage and whatever other synonym you want to use, but also a quiet resilience that we are not going to go anywhere, no matter what happens with this program,” Saul Gonzalez of KCRW radio station tells The World.

One young woman he interviewed in his reporting is named Melody. She was 9 when she was brought to the US from Guatemala. “I'm an organizer so I really don't have time to stop, I really don't have time to grieve, or feel sad or sorry for myself or for the 800,000 people affected by this,” Melody says. “Me personally, I'm going to keep fighting, get the word out, and let other people know that they do have rights.”

For more on how California would be affected if DACA relief is not granted by Congress, listen to the latest episode of The World.

Related: DACA recipients won’t go back into the shadows quietly