Tech community stands by Dreamers after Trump ends protections

As expected, President Trump announced today via Jeff Sessions that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would be dissolved. In six months, the government will begin phasing out protections for undocumented immigrants that came to the US as children and many members of the tech community are voicing their dissent over the decision.

In an email to employees, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared his disappointment and said that a number of Apple employees who are recipients of DACA protections -- also known as Dreamers -- have contacted him. "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," said Cook. He went on to say that the company was working with Apple Dreamers to provide support and advice from immigration experts.

Mark Zuckerberg, whose FWD.us site published an open letter to Trump last week urging him to keep DACA, wrote on Facebook today, "It's time for Congress to act to pass the bipartisan Dream Act or another legislative solution that gives Dreamers a pathway to citizenship. For years, leaders from both parties have been talking about protecting Dreamers. Now it's time to back those words up with action. Show us that you can lead. No bill is perfect, but inaction now is unacceptable." Like Zuckerberg, others including Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai are calling on Congress to intervene.

Pichai along with Microsoft's and Uber's CEOs and Lyft's cofounders took to Twitter to stand with Dreamers.

And Uber CTO, Thuan Pham, penned a letter which stated, "Immigrants often risk their lives for a chance at freedom and opportunity, and our country remains the world's beacon of freedom and opportunity. Immigrants have built and contributed to America since its very beginning, and are at the center of our social fabric and economic prosperity. My heart breaks to see so many people who are in the same situation today that I was in many years ago."

CEOs and representatives of hundreds of companies and organizations signed the FWD.us open letter last week and many are continuing to stand with Dreamers and DACA today. "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," said Cook.