A slew of major companies—including tech giants Uber, Intel, Facebook, and Google—are forming a bloc to seek Congressional immigration reform.
According to Reuters, which first reported the news late Thursday evening, the companies will band together under the name "Coalition for the American Dream" and seek support to extend Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
This Obama-era executive action allowed "Dreamers," undocumented immigrants who arrived as minors, to register with the government and legally study or work without fear of deportation. The newly organized Coalition appears to be unrelated to an Oklahoma-based group founded in 2006 that shares the same name: Coalition for the American Dream. (The Oklahoma group also "advocate[s] for and protect[s] the rights of disenfranchised immigrants and new Americans from all nations.")
President Donald Trump let the program, which affects 900,000 immigrants, expire in March 2017.
"Uber joined the Coalition for the American Dream because we stand with the Dreamers," Matthew Wing, an Uber spokesman, e-mailed Ars in a statement. "We've also held town halls, provided legal support, and launched an online Dreamer Resource Center for any of our drivers who have been impacted by the DACA repeal as well as their friends and family. We plan to support Dreamers as long as they need help."
Wing noted that the company has held "in-person town halls" in various cities, including Los Angeles, Houston, and New York, in addition to providing bilingual legal assistance.
It's not clear exactly how many DACA recipients are employed by tech companies. In the case of Uber, the company does not require them to provide proof of work eligibility.
Since Trump’s inauguration, many major tech companies have been increasingly vocal in opposing government policies that they disagree with, notably on immigration.
