The expiration of an Obama-era program protecting illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children would create a "crisis for workforces across the country," business leaders warn.
In a letter to House and Senate leaders sent Wednesday, more than 100 executives called on lawmakers to pass a bill supporting the so-called Dreamers.
"We write to urge Congress to act immediately and pass a permanent bipartisan legislative solution to enable Dreamers who are currently living, working, and contributing to our communities to continue doing so," the letter reads. "The imminent termination of the [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] program is creating an impending crisis for workforces across the country."
The letter was signed by more chief executives including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook of Apple, Microsoft president Brad Smith, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam.
The letter, posted by The Hill, cited a CATO Institute study that found ending the DACA program could cause a $215 billion decline in the gross domestic product.
"In addition to causing a tremendous upheaval in the lives of DACA employees, failure to act in time will lead to businesses losing valuable talent, cause disruptions in the workforce, and will result in significant costs," the group wrote.
The business leaders want lawmakers to pass legislation next week — Congress' deadline to pass a bill for government funding to avert a shutdown. DACA is set to expire March 5.
Democrats want a DACA replacement be included in any spending deal; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wants the two bills to be separate, Axios reported.
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