Assorted politicians, news media figures, and business leaders have publicly expressed opposition toward the Trump administration’s rescinding of the executive policy of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), further calling for a legislative measure to afford amnesty to immigrants illegally residing in the country who claim to have unlawfully emigrated as children.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
The Arizona senator described the rescinding of DACA as “the wrong approach” and an “unacceptable reversal” via statement:
President Trump’s decision to eliminate DACA is the wrong approach to immigration policy at a time when both sides of the aisle need to come together to reform our broken immigration system and secure the border.
I strongly believe that children who were illegally brought into this country through no fault of their own should not be forced to return to a country they do not know. The 800,000 innocent young people granted deferred action under DACA over the last several years are pursuing degrees, starting careers, and contributing to our communities in important ways. While I disagreed with President Obama’s unilateral action on this issue, I believe that rescinding DACA at this time is an unacceptable reversal of the promises and opportunities that have been conferred to these individuals.
The federal government has a responsibility to defend and secure our borders, but we must do so in a way that upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation. I will be working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to devise and pass comprehensive immigration reform, which will include the DREAM Act.
In an op-ed published last Thursday in The Washington Post, McCain called for a “comprehensive” legislative approach to dealing with illegal immigration, including amnesty for foreigners illegally residing in the country:
Let’s make [border security] part of a comprehensive bill that members of both parties can get behind — one that values our security as well as the humanity of immigrants and their contributions to our economy and culture.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
The South Carolina senator told “the DREAM Act population” that they “had done nothing wrong,” calling on Trump to provide leadership toward a legislative extension of amnesty to “DREAMers.”
Graham expressed support for legislative codification of DACA via a statement; he did not list criteria against which potential DACA beneficiaries would be screened:
If President Trump chooses to cancel the DACA program and give Congress six months to find a legislative solution, I will be supportive of such a position.
I have always believed DACA was a presidential overreach.
However, I equally understand the plight of the Dream Act kids who — for all practical purposes — know no country other than America.
If President Trump makes this decision we will work to find a legislative solution to their dilemma.
I have introduced legislation to solve this problem along with Senator Durbin. I look forward to working with President Trump and my colleagues in Congress to find a fair solution to this difficult problem.
Legislative codification of DACA’s de facto amnesty for DREAMers, said Graham, would be a first step toward a broader extension of amnesty to immigrants illegally residing in the country:
Starting with the DREAM Act kids, I think, is a good downpayment on what will eventually be a comprehensive solution to a broken immigration system.
Barack Obama
The 44th president took to Facebook to describe the Trump administration’s rescinding of DACA as “wrong,” “self-defeating,” “cruel,” and “contrary to our spirit.” He described shielding DREAMers from the legal consequences for their unlawful status in America as being “about basic decency”:
Joe Biden
The former vice president echoed Obama’s description of rescinding DACA as “cruel,” positing that DREAMers will now necessarily be repatriated via deportation:
Via Facebook, Biden described DREAMers as “Americans … throwing them out is cruel. It is inhumane. And it is not America”:
Mark Zuckerberg
Rescinding of DACA is “cruel,” said Facebook’s founder and CEO in his echoing of Obama’s and Biden’s shared description:
Zuckerberg founded FWD.us, a left-wing and Democrat-aligned non-profit that agitates for widespread extension of amnesty to foreigners illegally in the country.
Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO expressed “deep dismay” at the rescinding of DACA via an internal memo sent company-wide, via TechCrunch:
Team,
America promises all its people the opportunity to achieve their dreams through hard work and perseverance. At Apple, we’ve dedicated ourselves to creating products that empower those dreams. And at our best, we aspire to be part of the promise that defines America.
Earlier today, the Justice Department announced that President Trump will cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in six months if Congress does not act to make the program permanent.
I am deeply dismayed that 800,000 Americans — including more than 250 of our Apple coworkers — may soon find themselves cast out of the only country they’ve ever called home.
DACA recognizes that people who arrived in the United States as children should not be punished for being here illegally. It lets these Americans, who have successfully completed rigorous background investigations, go to school, earn a living, support their families, pay taxes and work toward achieving their dreams like the rest of us. They are called Dreamers, and regardless of where they were born, they deserve our respect as equals.
I’ve received several notes over the weekend from Dreamers within Apple. Some told me they came to the U.S. as young as two years old, while others recounted they don’t even remember a time they were not in this country.
Dreamers who work at Apple may have been born in Canada or Mexico, Kenya or Mongolia, but America is the only home they’ve ever known. They grew up in our cities and towns, and hold degrees from colleges across the country. They now work for Apple in 28 states.
They help customers in our retail stores. They engineer the products people love and they’re building Apple’s future as part of our R&D teams. They contribute to our company, our economy and our communities just as much as you and I do. Their dreams are our dreams.
I want to assure you that Apple will work with members of Congress from both parties to advocate for a legislative solution that provides permanent protections for all the Dreamers in our country.
We are also working closely with each of our co-workers to provide them and their families the support they need, including the advice of immigration experts.
On behalf of the hundreds of employees at Apple whose futures are at stake; on behalf of their colleagues and on behalf of the millions more across America who believe, as we do, in the power of dreams, we issue an urgent plea for our leaders in Washington to protect the Dreamers so their futures can never be put at risk in this way again.
Despite this setback for our nation, I’m confident that American values will prevail and we will continue our tradition of welcoming immigrants from all nations. I’ll do whatever I can to assure this outcome.
Apple, the world’s most highly-valued company by market capitalization, currently employs 250 “DREAMers,” according to Cook.
Jack Dorsey
Twitter’s founder and CEO signed onto a letter calling for the preservation of DACA composed by Zuckerberg’s FWD.us non-profit:
August 31, 2017
To: President Donald J. Trump
To: Speaker Paul Ryan; Leader Nancy Pelosi; Leader Mitch McConnell; and Leader Charles E. Schumer
As entrepreneurs and business leaders, we are concerned about new developments in immigration policy that threaten the future of young undocumented immigrants brought to America as children.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows nearly 800,000 Dreamers the basic opportunity to work and study without the threat of deportation, is in jeopardy. All DACA recipients grew up in America, registered with our government, submitted to extensive background checks, and are diligently giving back to our communities and paying income taxes. More than 97 percent are in school or in the workforce, 5 percent started their own business, 65 percent have purchased a vehicle, and 16 percent have purchased their first home. At least 72 percent of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies count DACA recipients among their employees.
Unless we act now to preserve the DACA program, all 780,000 hardworking young people will lose their ability to work legally in this country, and every one of them will be at immediate risk of deportation. Our economy would lose $460.3 billion from the national GDP and $24.6 billion in Social Security and Medicare tax contributions.
Dreamers are vital to the future of our companies and our economy. With them, we grow and create jobs. They are part of why we will continue to have a global competitive advantage.
We call on President Trump to preserve the DACA program. We call on Congress to pass the bipartisan DREAM Act or legislation that provides these young people raised in our country the permanent solution they deserve.
Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber of Commerce (CoC) framed the rescinding of DACA as economically damaging via a statement to The Daily Caller:
With approximately 700,000 DACA recipients working for all sorts of businesses across the country, terminating their employment eligibility runs contrary to the president’s goal of growing the U.S. economy.
Broadly, the CoC calls for amnesty to be extended to immigrants illegally in the country, whom the CoC describes as “undocumented people.”
The CoC calls for a “tough but fair process for the 11 million undocumented people who are living in our country today to earn a legal status.
News Media Outlets
Left-wing and Democrat-aligned news media outlets produced and published TV segments, op-eds, and assorted content to defend DACA.
The New York Times (NYT) published a video highlighting several self-described DREAMers; see it below.
Various op-eds published at the NYT defended DACA, variously describing the rescinding of DACA as “economically damaging,” “expansive[ly] cruel,” and “nativist.”
The Washington Post similarly hyped profiles of DREAMers; no such analysis was offered of those harmed by illegal immigration or unlawful immigrants.
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