Business Leaders Call On President Trump and Congress to Protect 800,000 DACA Recipients

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 1, 2017
Chicago: Rebecca Shi 312-576-8032 | RShi@illinoisbic.biz
Ivette Moratoya 773-616-6115 | Ivette@fwd.us
Washington DCpress@fwd.us
Miami: Wendi Adelson 954-803-0079 | wendiadelson@gmail.com

 
Entrepreneurs, Business Leaders Call On President Trump and Congress to Protect 800,000 DACA Recipients

Chicago, Illinois– Today, over 300 U.S. business leaders joined chief executives of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, General Motors, Starbucks in an open letter urging President Donald Trump to preserve the DACA program and calling on Congress to pass the bipartisan DREAM Act or similar legislation that provides these young people raised in our country the permanent solution they deserve. The letter is organized by FWD.us, with support from IBIC and IMPAC Fund

Facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg:  "We need a government that protects Dreamers. Today I join business leaders across the country in calling on our president to keep the DACA program in place and protect Dreamers from fear of deportation We're also calling on Congress to finally pass the Dream Act or another permanent, legislative solution that Dreamers deserve."

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadell: "We care deeply about the DREAMers who work at Microsoft and fully support them. We will always stand for diversity and economic opportunity for everyone," 

Exelon Chairman Emeritus and IBIC Co-Chairman John Rowe: "Through DACA, these young immigrants have been able to receive an education and develop skills that make American companies more competitive. They drive company strategy and many have started businesses of their own that generate more jobs for Americans. They are who our economy needs"

MBF Healthcare Partners Chairman and IMPAC Fund Chairman Mike Fernandez: "My friend Dr. Alfredo QuiÅ„ones, head of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic came from Mexico at age 15 and was a migrant worker. Graduated from Harvard, practiced at John Hopkins and now at Mayo. He was and is a DREAMER! Is this the type of talent that we want to deport. How many lives will be lost because people like him, lovers of our American Dream will not be here? What are we doing to our Nation?"
 
Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro "Passing the DREAM Act  is the right thing to do. It makes no sense to expel talented young people who have been raised as Americans. We need their knowledge and skills to build our economy and defend our nation."
 
DePaul University President Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban "DePaul University was founded in 1898 to serve Chicago's large and growing immigrant population. This group had very limited access to higher education. Those men and women built Chicago into the great city it is today. DePaul continues to provide a world-class education to all of our students, including new immigrants. Dream students are as much a part of Chicago as any students, and they deserve a chance to fully contribute to our culture and economy. I urge you to find a permanent solution that helps these students realize the American Dream."

Additional signatories include General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Crate and Barrel Co-Founders Carole and Gordon Segal, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Exelon Chairman Emertius John Rowe, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett, Facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, United Airlines former Chairman Glenn Tilton, Chicago Sister Cities Chairman Sam Scott, MBF Healthcare Partners Chairman Mike Fernandez, Old World Industries Chairman Tom Hurvis, Western Industrial Contractors Founder Barbara Grogan, among others.

Illinois CEO signatories include Crate and Barrel cofounders Carole and Gordon Segal, Pulmonary Consultants CEO, Dr. Mohammed Zaher Sahloul, Exelon Chairman Emeritus John Rowe, Willis Towers Watson Group Managing Partner John Atkinson, United Airlines Former Chairman Glenn F. Tilton, NAIMA President Sergio Suarez, and Outcome Health President and CEO Shradha Agarwal and Rishi Shah, Chicago Sister Cities Chairman Samuel C Scott III, The Pritzker Group Co-Founder JB Pritzker, CC Industries Executive Vice President Bill Kunkler, Susan Crown Exchange Chairman Susan Crown, The Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation Chairman Dr. Bryan Traubert, Robert R. McCormick Foundation President and CEO David Hiller, GSV Acceleration Fund President Deborah Quazzo, Ancora Associates CEO Clare Munana, The Resurrection Project CEO Raul Raymundo, Evans Food Group CEO and Quaker Oats Former CEO Jose Luis Prado, Old World Industries Founder and Chairman Tom Hurvis, National Partnership for New Americans CEO Josh Hoyt, Illinois Science and Technology Coalition President and CEO Mark Harris, Tech Nexus CEO Terry Howerton, Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro, Illinois Institute of Technology President Alan W. Cramb, Dominican University President Donna M. Carroll, and DePaul University President Dr. Gabriel Esteban.  

The letter and current signatory list can be found here. The letter will remain open and those who wish to sign in the future can do so here.

Full text:


August 31, 2017

To: President Donald J. Trump

To: Speaker Paul Ryan; Leader Nancy Pelosi; Leader Mitch McConnell; and Leader Charles E. Schumer

As entrepreneurs and business leaders, we are concerned about new developments in immigration policy that threaten the future of young undocumented immigrants brought to America as children.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows nearly 800,000 Dreamers the basic opportunity to work and study without the threat of deportation, is in jeopardy. All DACA recipients grew up in America, registered with our government, submitted to extensive background checks, and are diligently giving back to our communities and paying income taxes. More than 97 percent are in school or in the workforce, 5 percent started their own business, 65 percent have purchased a vehicle, and 16 percent have purchased their first home. At least 72 percent of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies count DACA recipients among their employees.

Unless we act now to preserve the DACA program, all 780,000 hardworking young people will lose their ability to work legally in this country, and every one of them will be at immediate risk of deportation. Our economy would lose $460.3 billion from the national GDP and $24.6 billion in Social Security and Medicare tax contributions.

Dreamers are vital to the future of our companies and our economy. With them, we grow and create jobs. They are part of why we will continue to have a global competitive advantage.

We call on President Trump to preserve the DACA program. We call on Congress to pass the bipartisan DREAM Act or legislation that provides these young people raised in our country the permanent solution they deserve.
 
About IBIC: The Illinois Business Immigration Coalition promotes commonsense immigration reform that advances Illinois economic competitiveness, provides Illinois companies with both the high-skilled and low-skilled talent they need, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs and citizens. For more information please visit www.illinoisbic.biz
 
About FWD.us: FWD.us' mission is to mobilize the tech community to support policies that keep the American Dream achievable in the 21st century. For more information please visit www.fwd.us 
 
About IMPAC Fund: IMPAC brings together business and civic leaders in Florida who support policies and practices that recognize the important contributions that immigrants make to our economy and our communities. For more information please visit impacfund.org
 
PRESS
 
ABC News: Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Google execs among business leaders asking Trump to preserve DACA
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/facebook-apple-amazon-google-execs-business-leaders-trump/story?id=49556679
 
Business Insider: Microsoft's CEO is again standing up to Trump on immigration
http://www.businessinsider.com/satya-nadella-microsoft-support-dreamers-oppose-trump-ending-daca-2017-8
 
Reuters: Trump's expected repeal of Dreamer program draws fire from business

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-daca/trumps-expected-repeal-of-dreamer-program-draws-fire-from-business-idUSKCN1BB2PD
 
Apple, Facebook, Google and scores of businesses are imploring President Trump to protect the Dreamers
 
Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Mary Barra among more than 300 business titans imploring Trump to preserve Obama-era policy to protect immigrants
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