Trump ends DACA, gets slammed by tech company execs

Tuesday, Sep 5, 2017: The Trump administration announced Tuesday its decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA – a program launched in 2012 by the Obama administration to protect those who had arrived in the US illegally as children from deportation. The Congress now has six months to try and do something about reviving it before the government stops allowing renewals of permits for the existing recipients of the program.

Earlier on Monday, US President Donald Trump asked the Congress to create a legislation to replace the DACA. “Congress, get ready to do your job – DACA!” he tweeted.

Congress, get ready to do your job - DACA!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2017

Statistics reveal that DACA has allowed approximately 800,000 undocumented youth to continue staying in the US and receive work authorizations every two years.

Trump, who had vowed to terminate DACA in his election campaign, picked out attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to announce the end of the program.

Talking at the Justice Department this morning, Attorney General, Jeff Sessions said: “I'm here today to announce that the program known as DACA that was effectuated under the Obama administration is being rescinded.”

Calling DACA “unconstitutional” and an “overreach of the executive branch,” Jeff Sessions said the program caused a surge of young immigrants at the border with Mexico, and eventually allowed undocumented workers to take Americans’ jobs.

The announcement was received with widespread protests across the US. Thousands of undocumented immigrants and supporters of DACA gathered outside the White House to protest against Trump, sources say.

Trump’s decision is seen as an attempt to transfer the existing stress on White House onto the Congress to come up with a solution for DACA recipients. But, one wonders whether Congress, which failed to replace the Affordable Care Act, will actually succeed in passing an immigration bill.

As of now, those previously approved under DACA can continue working in the US until the expiry date of those approvals. It is said that the applications for renewals will still be considered by the government. Renewal applications for permits set to expire before March 5, 2018 will be received until Oct. 5, 2017. However, the U.S. government is not going to take any new DACA applications, starting today.

Meanwhile, several technology company chiefs have condemned Trump’s decision to end DACA.

Facebook CEO Zuckerberg wrote in an FB post that it was "a sad day" for the country.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai Tweeted, “Dreamers are our neighbors, our friends and our co-workers. This is their home. Congress needs to act now …”

Dreamers are our neighbors, our friends and our co-workers. This is their home. Congress needs to act now to #DefendDACA. #WithDreamers

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) September 5, 2017

In a tweet, Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed his support for Dreamers. “250 of my Apple coworkers are #Dreamers. I stand with them. They deserve our respect as equals and a solution rooted in American values,” he wrote.

250 of my Apple coworkers are #Dreamers. I stand with them. They deserve our respect as equals and a solution rooted in American values.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 3, 2017

In a statement, Microsoft announced that it would provide assistance wherever possible, including paying for legal counsel and court cases to defend DACA. Microsoft has also asked Congress to restore DACA and treat it as high priority.

“We need to put the humanitarian needs of these 800,000 people on the legislative calendar before a tax bill,” Brad Smith, Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer, wrote in a blog post.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expresed his reaction on twitter as well.

Dreamers make our country & communities stronger. We stand for diversity and economic opportunity for everyone. https://t.co/gRCr8VWwcN

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) September 5, 2017

AIRBNB Co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky tweeted:

Dreamers belong in our country, our companies and in our communities. I’m proud to support them https://t.co/VNud3AcytU

— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) September 1, 2017

DACA recipients will be under severe stress and insecurity for the next six months. If Congress fails to pass a bill, they will have no other option than leaving the US.