Google on Wednesday said it backs President-elect Joe Biden’s promised immigration reform, while offering to cover some of the fees associated with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Kent Walker, senior vice president of global affairs at the company, said Google is making a $250,000 grant that will cover application fees to DACA for over 500 immigrants.
“We believe it’s important that Dreamers have a chance to apply for protection under the program so that they can safeguard their status in the United States. But in the middle of a global pandemic that has led to economic hardship, especially for the many immigrants playing essential roles on the front lines, there is concern that many Dreamers cannot afford to pay the application fee,” he wrote in a blog post. Dreamer is a term people who support DACA use to refer to immigrants.
DACA, established by executive order by then-President Barack Obama in 2012, enabled some immigrants who arrived to the United States while children to be shielded from deportation. It also gave them the opportunity to obtain critical legal documents so they could be employed and go to school.
President Donald Trump tried ending the program but was blocked by courts. The Supreme Court ruled in June 2020 that Trump could rescind DACA but didn’t follow proper “procedure.” Read more…
