Facebook’s CEO has shown support for DACA since the rumors of its termination started. Now that the news is official, he continues to support it by hosting three immigrants enrolled in the program in his home.
Zuckerberg welcomed three beneficiaries from the program, referred to as “Dreamers” to echo the widely known “American Dream”. He streamed the meeting in his personal Facebook page, and more than 1.5 million people have watched the discussion in the three hours it has been live.
Zuckerberg challenged members of Congress to “show they can lead,” one day after joining other tech leaders in condemning Trump’s executive move. He said that “there are more than 2 million dreamers”. He also argued than any legislation should give those in the DACA program “a full pathway to citizenship” and “a guarantee of work status.”
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The three Dreamers joined Zuckerberg at his home in Palo Alto, California, and recounted the stories of how their parents had brought them from Peru, Mexico and Canada.
Maria, one of the dreamers, explained how her parents moved their family to the U.S. when she was five years old to seek medical care for her sister, who’d lost her leg after being hit by a car.
Tomas, another of Zuckerberg’s guests, recalled how his father had abandoned his family in Mexico and he was brought to the United States by his mother at the age of two. His mother subsequently died of cancer when he was six years old.
Maria pointed out: “I feel American, I am American, I only lack proper identification.” She added that living here as an undocumented immigrant means that, “even though you feel American, you have to plan for the possibility of being deported.”
Tomas shared his story about wanting to join the U.S. Navy but being denied access due to his migratory status. He was very disappointed that he wasn’t allowed to fight for his country, and decided to focus on having a career. He later graduated with a degree in kinesiology from California State University at Stanislaus.
Before having dreamers join him in his home, Zuckerberg wrote a post on his Facebook page on Thursday night, where he pledged his support of DACA, called “Dreamers” the future of the country, and urged other business leaders to join in signing an open letter addressed to Trump. The letter has already been signed by fellow tech giants Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook, along with numerous others.
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Facebook CEO pointed out that the fact that these Dreamers exist in legal limbo is “an insane state for our country to be in.” He urged those watching his live stream to pressure members of Congress to find a legislative fix.
Trump announced on September 5 that DACA will be coming to an end, but left the legal sorting out to Congress, so the future of the more than 800,000 Dreamers that are under the program is uncertain.