Tech, business giants and Hollywood stars blasted President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA.
Two sources close to the president told Politico on Sunday that Trump made his decision after an afternoon meeting with his aides.
DACA is an Obama-era initiative that grants work permits undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country by family members as children.
Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook to change his profile picture to support Dreamers on Sunday. He also wrote a post supporting the Obama-era initiative last week
Zuckerberg linked the letter he signed with approximately 350 business leaders on Facebook
Approximately 790,000 people known as ‘Dreamers’ are protected under DACA according to Pew research.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed his profile picture to say ‘I support DACA’ on Saturday. Zuckerberg is currently on a ‘listening tour’ of the US where he is sitting down with community leaders from each state.
He wrote on Facebook several days earlier: ‘I stand with the Dreamers – the young people brought to our country by their parents.’
‘Many have lived here as long as they can remember. Dreamers have a special love for this country because they can’t take living here for granted.’
After it was revealed that Trump planned to repeal DACA, Tim Cook tweeted that Dreamers ‘deserve out respect’
Cook claimed that 250 of his Apple coworkers benefited from DACA. There are approximately $790,000 Dreamers nationwide
Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted support for the program as well. ‘He wrote: 250 of my Apple coworkers are #Dreamers. I stand with them. They deserve our respect as equals and a solution rooted in American values.’
Hollywood superstars also took to social media to slam Trump’s decision.
Lena Dunham, who has been a consistent critic of Trump and supported Hillary Clinton’s campaign, tweeted: ‘Imagine if the president could understand that the recipients of DACA ARE the Americans he’s been tasked with protecting #saveDACA.’
Kumail Nanjiani and Rob Reiner criticized repealing DACA with Reiner calling the president a ‘heartless p****’
Gina Rodriguez and Lena Dunham also took to Twitter to blast the repealing of DACA
‘Jane the Virgin’ star Gina Rodriguez tweeted: ‘More I stand with Dreamers. #defendDaca.’
Her CW TV show often focuses on immigration since Jane’s grandmother is an undocumented immigrant in the series.
Actor and director Rob Reiner criticized Trump down to his core as a human being, saying on Twitter: ‘Unfortunately there is no other way to say this: Donald J. Trump is a heartless p****.’
After the news broke, actor and ‘The Big Sick’ director Kumail Nanjiani tweeted: ‘#DACA > MAGA’
Star Trek actor George Takei tweeted: ‘Trump’s plan to deport Dreamers in 6 mos. is cruel, divisive and politically motivated. Shame on him, and shame on us for electing him.’
Susan Sarandon tweeted a link to a threat by the Women’s March tread defending DACA, saying: ‘I stand with #Dreamers who make our country stronger. Check out the thread below to see how you can defend DACA now.’
Susan Sarandon, who was a vocal Bernie Sanders supporter during the Democratic primary, linked a threat from the Women’s March about how to defend DACA
‘Shame on him’: George Takei called Trump’s plan cruel. The status of approximately 790,000 children of undocumented immigrants would be called into question with the repeal
Tech and business leaders voiced their support of DACA last Thursday. Almost 350 industry giants including Zuckerberg, Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Microsoft president Brad Smith signed the FWD.us open letter to the president and congressional leaders.
he letter cites how Dreamers benefit the economy and the impact rescinding the act would have on the work force.
In part, the letter reads: ‘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.’
The White House is expected to officially announce a decision on the program on Tuesday.