Microsoft On Immigration: Tech Giant Brings Dreamers To Washington To Press For DACA Legislation

Nearly 20 Microsoft employees will press Congress to protect recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as arguments on the program come before the Supreme Court.

The Microsoft employees, all DACA recipients, travel to Washington Tuesday with company President Brad Smith and lobbyist Fred Humphries to urge lawmakers to take action. It will be the second time Microsoft ferries employees to Washington to press the issue since the Trump administration has moved to end the program for people who were brought to the United States as children without documentation.

Smith called on Congress to reprioritize its calendar to enact legislation to protect the 800,000 so-called “dreamers.”

“We have a proven track record of being an advocate for policies that include immigrants, that allows them and enables them to integrate their talents, their abilities, their skills. It’s helpful to the company but most importantly, to our economy,” Humphries told The Hill.

“We have never taken our eye off the ball, even when it’s gone quiet. We have done our best to represent the 66 DACA employees, which includes Microsoft and LinkedIn, to make sure that our employees' voices are heard and our company’s voice is heard.”

DACA, which was created through executive order by then-President Barack Obama in 2012, provided recipients the ability to live and work in the United States, enabling them to obtain Social Security cards, health insurance, driver’s licenses and other benefits.

Microsoft is party to a suit filed by a Princeton University student challenging the administration’s action. It also has listed DACA as a top tech issue, second only to cybersecurity.

Supreme Court arguments are scheduled for Tuesday and among the lawyers is Luis Cortes, 31, who is himself a DACA recipient whose father was deported when he attempted to gain legal status.

"A lot is at stake for me individually," said Cortes, who came to the United States from Mexico when he was a year old. "I will be looking at nine individuals who will ultimately decide whether my clients will be deported and me with them."

He added: "These nine justices hold my future."

The court will hear arguments on whether it has jurisdiction in the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to wind down DACA, and if so, whether the decision in lawful. Three cases have been consolidated before the high court, filed in California, the District of Columbia and New York.

All three plaintiffs argue termination of the program violates federal law governing administrative agencies as well as DACA recipients’ rights and were upheld by lower courts.

(Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, Trump v. NAACP and McAleenan v. Vidal)