Dozens of business leaders have warned Congress that the economy faces a “crisis” if lawmakers fail to pass laws protecting young immigrants who came to the United States as children.
In a letter to congressional leaders released Thursday, more than 80 company executives said their businesses would suffer if protections for the troubled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program ended.
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled against the decade-old plan to allow hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to avoid deportation and work legally.
Business leaders say removing DACA protections will exacerbate a labor shortage that has plagued the economy for months. Signatories include Amazon, Apple, General Motors, IBM, Microsoft, Target and Verizon. The group said it also featured the letter in full-page ads in Thursday’s editions of The Wall Street Journal, Dallas Morning News and The Charlotte Observer.
“If thousands of critical workers are deprived of the legal ability to support themselves and their families, America’s worker shortages will get worse,” the business leaders wrote. “If this ruling becomes final, this is where we are now. The situation we are facing and that is why we are asking today.”