Top CEOs’ open letter urges lawmakers to let DACA ‘Dreamers’ stay in US

SAN FRANCISCO – An open letter signed by more than 100 chief executives from some of America’s most powerful businesses is urging legislators to pass a law before January 19 that allows DACA recipients or “Dreamers” to continue living in the U.S.

Dreamers are undocumented immigrants who were children when they arrived in the U.S.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. WEBSITE

Coca Cola’s Jim Dinkin. LINKEDIN

General Motors’ Mary Barra. WIKIPEDIA

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. TWITTER

Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, allowed nearly 700,000 Dreamers to apply for work permits and avoid deportation, until President Donald Trump ended it last year.

The CEOs’ letter was sent to congressional leaders on Wednesday, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). It is running as a full-page advertisement in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal today, Thursday.

Signatories include executives from industry and finance. Among the signatories are Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Jim Dinkins of Coca Cola and Tim Cook of Apple.

“The imminent termination of the DACA program is creating an impending crisis for workforces across the country,” the letter reads. “Failure to act in time will lead to businesses losing valuable talent, cause disruptions in the workforce and will result in significant costs.”

Not only would failing to extend DACA cause untold human suffering, the letter states, it could cost the U.S. economy $215 billion in lost GDP.

Should there be no legislation by January 19 a new policy is unlikely to be crafted by March 5, Trump’s deadline for congressional action on DACA.