The Trump administration on Tuesday decided to scrap from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, triggering ripple effects throughout Silicon Valley. Scott Budman reports.
The Trump administration on Tuesday decided to scrap the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, triggering ripple effects throughout Silicon Valley.
The tech industry is known as a place where immigrants have risen to, and often started, successful companies. The loss of DACA, which gives renewable, two-year permits to immigrants who entered the United States as undocumented minors, is expected to heavily cost Silicon Valley.
“This has a very real impact on the bottom line of companies,” said Peter Leroe-Munoz, the vice president of tech and innovation policy at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
He said certain industries have especially benefited from young immigrant employees.
“Whether in autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence or cyber security, there is a source of intellectual capital that can help grow those technologies here in the US and increase American jobs,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, at the Asian Law Alliance, the phone rang off the hook, with young immigrants from all over the world reacting to the uncertainty of their future.
"There are people who came here from Asian countries, African countries, European countries, obviously people who crossed the southern border from Mexico to California, but the population of DACA recipients (is) very diverse,” said Richard Konda, with the Asian Law Alliance.
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The movers and shakers of the tech world on Tuesday vocalized their support for DACA.
"The decision to end DACA is not just wrong,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “It is particularly cruel to offer young people the American Dream, encourage them to come out of the shadows and trust our government, and then punish them for it."
Dara Khosrowshahi, who was recently named the chief executive of San Francisco-based ridesharing company Uber echoed the sentiment.
“It's against our values to turn our backs on #DREAMers. Everyone deserves a chance to work, study and contribute - the #AmericanDream!” he wrote on Twitter.
