The Trump Administration's move Tuesday (July 28) limiting the DACA immigration program after the Supreme Court upholding it has drawn criticism from the tech industry.

The Administration is reviewing the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, but in the meantime it is freezing applications for the program.  

DACA is the Obama-era program that protects from deportation undocumented young people who immigrated to the U.S. as children. Tech companies argue that DACA "dreamers" are often highly skilled workers in tech and innovation industries. 

"Immigrants and children of immigrants play a key role in founding and leading innovative, fast-growing companies including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Intel," Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro said following the Supreme Court decision to allow DACA to continue. 

"The Administration has gone from placing DACA applicants 'into A bucket' to throwing them away," said TechNet. 

“In June, DACA recipients and applicants breathed a sigh of relief when the Supreme Court struck down the administration’s attempt to arbitrarily end the program," said TechNet President Linda Moore. "Just last week, the Justice Department stated in open court that they are defying the Court's decision by holding new applications and placing them 'into a bucket.’ Now, the administration is thumbing its nose at our courts further by refusing new applications and slashing DACA recipients’ renewal period by half, from two years to one." 

“Today’s guidance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security creates more uncertainty and hardship for our nation’s DACA recipients, limiting their ability to contribute important talents and innovative spirit to the U.S. economy," said tech association ITI President Jason Oxman. "Rather than advancing efforts to eliminate or weaken the DACA program, we urge the Trump Administration to advance a permanent legislative solution that would ensure these Americans’ legal status once and for all.” 

Tech groups and others wanting to keep highly skilled workers in country were celebrating the Supreme Court's decision Thursday (June 18) throwing a wrench into the Trump Administration's effort to end the DACA program.  Univision and Verizon also weighed in as well.

The Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was an Obama-era executive order that prevented the deportation of undocumented immigrant children--the so-called "Dreamers." It was later extended to parents of citizens.

“Dreamers are Americans in every way but on paper and want to continue to contribute their talent and entrepreneurial spirit to advance the U.S. economy,” said Jason Oxman, president of tech association ITI. “These young men and women are our friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court gives much-needed certainty for these Americans, their families, and businesses. We urge the U.S. Congress to act now and advance a permanent legislative solution to ensure these Americans can continue to contribute to our communities and the U.S. economy.” 

Consumer Technology Association president Gary Shapiro agrees more needs to be done. "Today’s decision was a step in the right direction, but U.S. immigration law should be modernized," he said. "CTA will continue to work with Congress to pass bipartisan immigration legislation that strengthens our nation by welcoming those who wish to ensure America is the most prosperous, economically competitive and innovative country in the world.”  

TechNet president Linda Moore also applauded the decision, saying it would allow 650,000 DACA recipients to stay in the country. "Our nation depends on talented professionals like DACA recipients who bring needed skills, innovation, and creative energy to a variety of endeavors. The facts regarding Dreamers are undeniable: more than 70 percent are pursuing or have pursued a bachelors' degree; more than 90 percent of DACA recipients are currently working, with more than 70 percent of those individuals on the payrolls of Fortune 500 companies," she said. 

“Univision strongly commends the Supreme Court for embracing our Dreamers and rejecting the Administration’s attempt to eliminate the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program," said the company. "From the beginning, Univision together with our community partners, has strongly opposed efforts to eliminate the DACA program by the Administration. Fighting for those in our country under DACA was always the right thing to do for many reasons. DACA recipients have contributed in meaningful ways to our country and helped improve our communities and raise the bar for all of us.

"DACA recipients are on the front lines as essential workers during this pandemic. They are class valedictorians. They are working professionals. They are innovators. They drive our business community, political space and the cultural milieu. They revere our nation and want to continue contributing to it each and every day. Univision is proud to stand up for DACA recipients because our country was founded by people just like these young men and women who believed that your work, education and innovation, not your national origin, is what make you uniquely American.” 

“Verizon has long stood with Dreamers and we are proud to celebrate today’s ruling with Dreamers around the nation," said Verizion SVP Kathy Grillo.  

"Dreamers belong here. They are crucial contributors who strengthen our communities and our nation. Dreamers are our colleagues, our friends, and our family. 

"Verizon applauds today’s ruling and we call on our nation’s leaders to find a permanent solution to protect Dreamers.” 

Hispanic-targeted media outlets Telemundo and Univision joined with many other groups to condemn President Donald Trump's decision to rescind the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program executive order, issued under President Barack Obama.

The decision was announced Tuesday (Sept. 5) by Attorney General Jeff Sessions

The program provided legal status for some 800,000 children of immigrants, including those in the country illegally.

“Telemundo stands with the 800,000 Dreamers who are integral to the economy, culture and spirit of our nation," said the company. "We are disheartened by the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In addition to the human impact of this decision, repealing DACA will result in the loss of thousands of jobs in the United States and billions of dollars in economic growth over the next decade. We urge Congress to act swiftly to preserve the rights of these valuable members of our community. All of our elected representatives should be held accountable toward this end.”

Univision president Randy Falco also expressed dismay over the decision.

"I am disappointed, to say the least, in today’s announcement by the Administration to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in six months," Falco said. "The U.S. government is revoking the ability of roughly 800,000 DREAMers to continue to work and contribute in countless ways to the United States -- the only home they have ever known. This is a failure to live up to a commitment already made to DREAMers and is contrary to America’s values and traditions.

"As parents are sending their kids back to college, thousands of DREAMer students pursuing college degrees are trying to focus on learning, not knowing if they will be able to complete their studies," Falco added. "As the government sends more troops to Afghanistan, DREAMer soldiers will be deployed to fight on the front lines, knowing that the freedoms they are protecting may not be afforded to them when they return home. As employers work to build the U.S. economy, DREAMer employees who are paying taxes and contributing to the future of our nation face uncertainty of their own economic futures.

"Let’s be very clear – DREAMers are our students, soldiers, first responders, coworkers, neighbors, and friends," Falco continued. "Here at UCI we will continue to stand by them, including those talented DREAMers working at our company, to advance our mission of entertaining, informing and empowering the Hispanic community and the rising American mainstream we serve. Their stories are unmistakably American. They deserve better than this.

"That is why today’s announcement should not be seen by those who espouse anti-immigrant sentiments as a 'win' or a way to send hundreds of thousands of immigrants back into the shadows," Falco said. "We must not allow this move to foster ethnic discrimination in our neighborhoods, schools and workplaces."

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, whose members include the National Hispanic Media Association, condemned the move in no uncertain terms.

"This decision is reprehensible from not only a moral standpoint, but also an economic one," the group said.

TechNet, which represents tech companies, joined the chorus of boos.

“Ending DACA will be highly disruptive to the U.S. economy because of the impact on many young people currently working with legal work permits they acquired because of this program," said TechNet President Linda Moore. "Whether you agree with DACA or not, ending it without anything to replace it creates unnecessary uncertainty for our economy and for almost 800,000 young people in this country who have passed background checks, paid fees, and are contributing to our economy, pursuing their studies, or even serving in our military.  

“There is a broad and bipartisan consensus that we should not punish children for the actions of their parents," (something Trump also said, though he added, essentially, that the law should be the law). "Leaders in both parties have long talked about finding a legislative solution to resolve this situation but have allowed policy disagreements and politics to lead to gridlock. The President’s action now makes it an urgent priority for Congress to turn its sympathy for these young people into a law that ends the uncertainty they face.”

The Consumer Technology Association charted a middle course. It did not condemn the decision, but said DACA was the right policy and urged Congress to step in.

""Preserving DACA is the right thing to do," said CTA President Gary Shapiro. "It also gives Congress an impetus to pass a humane immigration law that attracts and enables the world's best and brightest to innovate, build companies, create jobs and drive economic growth in the United States. Dreamers are an important part of this equation."

CTA has long proposed immigration policies that make it easier for highly skilled immigrants to find and keep a place in the tech workforce.

Trump defended the move, saying it was because the Obama Administration's executive action implementing it illegally bypassed Congress.

"The Attorney General of the United States, the Attorneys General of many states, and virtually all other top legal experts have advised that the program is unlawful and unconstitutional and cannot be successfully defended in court," Trump said Tuesday (Sept. 5). "There can be no path to principled immigration reform if the executive branch is able to rewrite or nullify federal laws at will."

The President said he was looking to Congress to find a legal solution and that he did not "punishing children, most of whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents. "