Tokyo: Hundreds of chief executives and business leaders in the US have signed a letter urging President Donald Trump not to scrap a programme known as “Dreamers” that prevents the deportation of young people brought to the country illegally.
The White House said this week that it was still reviewing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which was adopted when Barack Obama was in office. About 800,000 immigrants who came to the US illegally as children have received renewable, two-year work permits under the programme and are protected from deportation under its provisions.
“Dreamers are vital to the future of our companies and our economy,” Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, Amazon.com Inc CEO Jeff Bezos and other executives said in the letter, which was posted on a website late Thursday in the US “With them, we grow and create jobs. They are part of why we will continue to have a global competitive advantage.”
The open letter, signed by more than 350 executives, signals how top executives in the US are feeling bolder about confronting the president. Trump last month disbanded two business advisory councils after CEOs from Intel Corp. to Merck & Co stepped down in protest of his handling of the riots in Charlottesville, Virginia.
