The Trump\u00a0administration is ending\u00a0the\u00a0Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, DACA for short, that\u00a0protects hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants who were first brought to the United States as children.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Tuesday that\u00a0the Obama-era program is being rescinded\u2014making nearly 800,000 young immigrants vulnerable to deportation. Congress now has a six-month window to either make\u00a0protections permanent or introduce alternative legislation. If not, new DACA recipients will begin to lose their ability to work legally in the United States as early as March next year.<\/p>\n
Leaders in the technology industry have been vocal about their support for DACA,\u00a0penning an open letter<\/a>\u00a0to President Trump and Congress late last week in a final attempt to sway opinion.<\/p>\n Many\u00a0were quick to share their disappointment in the Trump administration’s decision on Tuesday, including Microsoft president Brad Smith who\u00a0called on Congress to move quickly and pass legislation that protects the 800,000 so-called Dreamers that are threatened by Trump’s decision.<\/p>\n “For Microsoft, the first step is clear… We believe this means that Congress now needs to reprioritize the fall legislative calendar… This means that Congress should adopt legislation on DACA\u00a0before\u00a0it tries to adopt a tax reform bill,” wrote Smith\u00a0in a blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Legislation to protect 800,000 #Dreamers<\/a> is an economic & humanitarian imperative. Congress needs to act quickly. https:\/\/t.co\/XZi4M7HYfC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Brad Smith (@BradSmi) September 5, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n