“Help is Here”: How a DACA Pathway to Citizenship Will Help Save the Social Security Fund

Abstract

Two federal programs hold their beneficiaries in limbo: DACA and Social Security. This Comment demonstrates that creating a citizenship pathway for the DACA population will not only give these deserving individuals the ability and security to remain in the United States but will also provide relief to Social Security’s impending insolvency through the influx of taxes that these then citizens will contribute as a result of increased opportunities. At the same time, this Comment does not attempt to portray its argument as a “silver bullet.” Rather, this approach is one tool that can be utilized by legislative efforts to remedy these two pressing issues. Part II of this Comment outlines the historical roots of the Social Security fund and its hastened impending insolvency. Part III provides background on the formation of the DACA program and explores the program’s economic constraints. Using both the 2021 and 2022 Social Security Trustee Reports, Part IV demonstrates how providing a path to citizenship—thereby eliminating educational and professional restrictions—would boost the Social Security fund