UPDATED 00:27 EDT / NOVEMBER 02 2017

INFRA

Tech companies get behind American ‘Dreamers’ once again

Some of the world’s largest tech Wednesday again gave their support to 840,000 “Dreamer” immigrants in the U.S. whose status is under threat.

The immigrants, part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, presently stand in no man’s land as the Trump administration attempts to end the program. Initiated under former President Barack Obama, the program protected Dreamers from deportation if they entered the U.S. before they had reached the age of 16.

Congress never passed the legislation, but anyone in the program could still study and work in the country. In September the Trump administration said it would deport the Dreamers within six months if Congress had not come up with a new program by then.

Leading tech companies have already formed a coalition in support of keeping DACA, asking Congress to create new legislation that will allow the Dreamers to remain in the U.S. Although the Trump administration said the decision was based on protecting jobs for Americans, many tech companies and even Obama, said the move was cruel and unwarranted.

On Wednesday tech companies such as Facebook Inc., IBM Corp., Twitter Inc., Google LLC and Uber Technologies Inc. filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit defending DACA, with 108 companies signing the brief. The lawsuit was filed by Minnesota, Maryland, Maine and California.

“Just as DACA sent a powerful message of inclusion, its rescission tells the immigrants who have been integral to the growth and development of our society and economy for decades that they are no longer welcome here,” the brief explains. “As a result, DACA’s rescission will reduce the future ability of U.S. companies to attract individuals from around the world to support America’s continued economic growth and prosperity.”

Apple Inc., which said it employs 250 Dreamers in 28 states, provided a separate brief. “These talented and entrepreneurial people fill important and varied roles across the company, including in operations, research and development, administration, sales and marketing, and retail,” wrote Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s vice president of people. “Apple and its customers have benefitted greatly from their intelligence, ambition, creativity, resilience, and hard work.”

Opponents to the scrapping of DACA have said it doesn’t make economic sense. The Center for American Progress wrote that by doing so it would reduce the U.S.’s gross domestic product by as much as $433.4 billion.

Image: Molly Adams via Flickr

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