Trump, DACA And Immigration: Mark Zuckerberg Takes On, Finds Common Ground With President

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg came out against a series of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump focusing on immigration policy in a post Friday.

Zuckerberg talked about the immigrant roots of his family and wife Priscilla Chan and his opposition to the Trump administration’s recent proposals.

“We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don't pose a threat will live in fear of deportation. We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That's who we are,” Zuckerberg said.

In the past week, the Trump administration’s series of executive orders have taken an aggressive approach to immigration policy that falls in line with many campaign promises. The administration’s moves include plans to build a wall along the Mexico border, ban travel from several predominantly Muslim countries and freeze the admission of Syrian refugees.

Zuckerberg also notes Trump’s hope to “work something out” for families with undocumented children who benefit from the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program who are commonly referred to as Dreamers. The DACA program allows undocumented children who were brought to the U.S. at a young age to legally live and work in the U.S. While DACA hasn’t played a major role in the tech immigration debate, the program’s scope has been a potential target for the Trump administration.

Zuckerberg also highlighted plans to work on immigration policy with tech lobbying group FWD.us, who echoed the sentiment on Twitter.

While the policy effects of the executive orders are still being figured out, the new administration's spate of moves follow months of anxiety from Silicon Valley over Trump’s immigration policy. During the campaign, Trump came out as a vocal opponent of HB-1 visas, which tech companies frequently use to bring in highly educated workers from overseas. However, the Trump administration’s post-election approach to the HB-1 remains to be seen — Zuckerberg highlighted Trump’s statement that the U.S. should continue to benefit from "people of great talent coming into the country."