[LWVNM Action] Coalition for the American Dream-90 top CEOS urge Pres. Biden and Congress to pass path to citizenship for Dreamers, letter-7-29-21

[Meredith Machen]

In mid-July, federal judge Andrew Hanen of Houston ruled on a administrative
procedural technicality that President Obama in 2012 had exceeded his
authority when creating DACA-Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This
ruling has dashed the dreams of 800,000 Dreamers who have been in limbo
since then.  Now major corporations are urging Congress and Pres. Biden to
do the right thing and pass long-overdue legislation that was thwarted by
the previous administration and ignored by Congress.  All of the research I
have seen indicates that the American economy depends on immigrant labor to
thrive. The CEOs push this time to at least provide for the very popular
Dream Act legislation to be passed will make a difference for a small
segment of the population. Comprehensive immigration reform has a hard, long
battle ahead, but "Poco a poco, se llega muy lejos."    Meredith Machen,
LWVUS Immigration Group, co-moderator
**********
More than 90 CEOs, including Apple's Tim Cook, are urging Congress to pass a
law offering a citizenship path to young immigrants brought illegally to the
US as children,
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-29/cook-pichai-join-ceos-ur
ging-congress-pass-path-to-citizenship> Bloomberg reports.
In the
<https://www.coalitionfortheamericandream.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/7.29
.21-CEO-Letter.pdf> letter signed by Apple's Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark
Zuckerberg, Google's Sundar Pichai, Amazon's Andy Jassy, Microsoft's Brad
Smith, and many others, the CEOs write on behalf of the "recent ruling in
the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program."
"The district court's ruling is devastating for hundreds of thousands of
Dreamers, as it found the program to be unlawful. While it allows those who
currently have DACA to continue to renew their status-for now-it further
throws into chaos the lives of these Dreamers and impedes their ability to
legally work and contribute to our country.
We strongly urge Congress to pass legislation to provide a pathway to
citizenship for Dreamers. Securing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers not
only is the right thing to do, but is a huge economic benefit to the United
States."
It's not the first time Apple and Tim Cook
<https://9to5mac.com/2019/10/02/apple-files-daca-amicus-brief-tim-cook/>
put their voices and names behind the Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals, or DACA, policy. In 2019, Apple said that it employed 443 DACA
holders - or Dreamers - across 36 states in the United States. In 2017,
Apple employed 250 Dreamers, so that number has grown by quite a bit since
then.
In this new letter signed by over 90 CEOs, Tim Cook and other chief
executives officers even quoted President Biden's speech after meeting with
Dreamers: "These young people are part of the fabric of our nation and vital
to our future."
The letter follows:
"Dreamers add billions of dollars to our GDP; they are employees who fill
key roles at our companies; they pay federal, state, and local taxes; they
work with us, start their own small businesses, teach our children in
school, and serve in our military. About half of all Dreamers are essential
workers who have been serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis."
These CEOs are urging Congress to pass legislation that creates a pathway to
citizenship for Dreamers and allows them to remain in the US to work, attend
school, and/or serve in the military without fear of deportation.
According to Bloomberg, President Biden proposed a pathway to citizenship
for 11 million people living illegally in the US, "but House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi earlier this year opted for a pared-back approach to attract support
from moderate Democrats."
https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/29/tim-cook-and-other-ceos-team-up-to-call-on-co
ngress-to-pass-path-to-citizenship-for-dreamers/
 
 
Meredith Machen
League of Women Voters of New Mexico

 <tel:505-577-6337> 505-577-6337 c
 <mailto:projects at lwvnm.org> projects at lwvnm.org
 <mailto:meredith.machen at gmail.com> meredith.machen at gmail.com
 
Empowering Voters - Defending Democracy
 
 
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