Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and chief legal officer Brad Smith have taken a strong stand against United States President Donald Trump’s stance to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which grants two-year work permits and preserves deportation of 800,000 undocumented people.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had also called on Trump recently to preserve the rights of “dreamers” under DACA.
Dismantling the DACA
The Obama-era programme was established by the former US President to help protect thousands of undocumented immigrants, who came to the country as children, from being deported.
Ten Republican state attorneys general urged federal authorities on August 31 to rescind the policy, threatening to file a legal challenge to the programme in federal court in Texas if DACA was not withdrawn.
Nadella Takes a Stand
Nadella and Smith criticised the call in two different statement. The Hyderabad-born Nadella wrote: “As I shared at the White House in June, I am a product of two uniquely American attributes: the ingenuity of American technology reaching me where I was growing up, fuelling my dreams, and the enlightened immigration policy that allowed me to pursue my dreams.”
He also added that creating more job opportunities for American citizens must be the priority.
“On top of this, smart immigration can help our economic growth and global competitiveness,” Nadella posted.
Negative Consequences
Microsoft executive Smith wrote: “We are deeply concerned by news reports about changes to DACA that are under consideration. These changes would not only negatively impact thousands of hardworking people across the United States, but will be a step backwards for our entire nation.”
He also pointed out that the rolling back of the programme could have significant economic consequences and that America would lose talent. Microsoft itself has hired 27 DACA beneficiaries.