More than 100 CEOs call on Congress to protect Dreamers as soon as possible
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Campaign Action More than 100 chief executive officers—including the heads of Apple, AT&T, the Gap, General Motors, Lyft, Starbucks, and Target—have signed a letter urging congressional leaders to act as soon as possible on legislation protecting DefMore than 100 CEOs call on Congress to protect Dreamers as soon as possible
Campaign Action More than 100 chief executive officers—including the heads of Apple, AT&T, the Gap, General Motors, Lyft, Starbucks, and Target—have signed a letter urging congressional leaders to act as soon as possible on legislation protecting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. “The imminent termination of the DACA program,” the letter states, “is creating an impending crisis for workforces across the country. It is critical that Congress act to pass legislation before January 19th”: In addition to causing a tremendous upheaval in the lives of DACA employees, failure to act in time will lead to businesses losing valuable talent, cause disruptions in the workforce, and will result in significant costs. Studies by economists across the ideological spectrum have also determined that if Congress fails to act our economy could lose $215 billion in GDP. We have seen time and again that the overwhelming majority of the American public of all political backgrounds agrees that we should protect Dreamers from deportation. Apple alone employs nearly 300 DACA recipients across 28 states in positions ranging from retail to software engineering. When Donald Trump announced the end of the DACA program last September, CEO Tim Cook sent a company-wide memo committing to work “closely with each of our co-workers to provide them and their families the support they need, including the advice of immigration experts,” and calling on “our leaders in Washington to protect the Dreamers so their futures can never be put at risk in this way again.” Months later, with 15,000 DACA recipients already out of status and 122 losing their work permits and protection from deportation every single day Congress doesn’t act, the urgency has never been more heightened. “While delay or inaction will cause significant negative impact to businesses,” the letter concludes, “hundreds of thousands of deserving young people across the country are counting on you to work in a bipartisan way to pass permanent legislative protection for Dreamers without further delay.” Help immigrant youth stay here where they belong by continuing the pressure on your members of Congress. They need the DREAM Act now. Read more