DACA:
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an American immigration policy founded by the Obama administration in June 2012. DACA allows certain illegal immigrants who entered the country as minors, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit.
Yesterday, the Trump administration announced plans to end the DACA program thtt was initiated under the Obama administration. In response, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook issued a memo to employees to express the company’s intent to work with Congress on legislation that will permanently protect those who are effected by the immigration policy changes.
Cook said that over 250 Apple employees across 28 states qualify as Dreamers and came from countries including Canada, Kenya and Mexico as young as the age of 2. He also suggested that Apple will lobby Congress to pass legislation that keeps the immigration in policy before it is due to end in six months and the company will be offering its full support to those involved, including access to immigration experts.
#Dreamers contribute to our companies and our communities just as much as you and I. Apple will fight for them to be treated as equals.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 5, 2017
This is not the first time that Cook has spoken out against the Trump administration. He previously signed a letter asking Trump to end DACA and has made his opinions very clear on issues such as the Paris climate pact and the President’s reaction to the Charleston tragedy.
Here is Cook’s full address to Apple employees (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.
Full comments from the White House on the program can be found here.