Google announced Wednesday that it will be donation more than $250,000 to cover Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program applications for hundreds of illegal immigrants.
The company has been a vocal supporter of the 2012 program spawned by an executive action by the Obama administration that many deem unconstitutional due to is defiance of federal law.
A parallel executive action by President Donald Trump was overruled by activist leftist courts who said there was no humanitarian way of undoing the controversial policy.
Google and other tech companies that rely heavily on an international workforce from regions like China and India helped activist groups with financial support in waging the lawsuits.
“For generations, talented immigrants have helped America drive technological breakthroughs and scientific advancements that have created millions of new jobs in new industries, enriching our culture and our economy,” Google’s senior vice president for global affairs Kent Walker wrote in a blog post.
“We believe it’s important that Dreamers have a chance to apply for protection under the program so that they can safeguard their status in the United States,” Walker continued. “But in the middle of a global pandemic that has led to economic hardship, especially for the many immigrants playing essential roles on the front lines, there is concern that many Dreamers cannot afford to pay the application fee.”
Google said it will make the donation through immigration nonprofit United We Dream.
The company also added that it will push for comprehensive immigration reform when Joe Biden is sworn in as president and urged Congress to make the legal codification of DACA a priority.
Meanwhile, Texas and eight other states are challenging the program’s legal basis in a U.S. District Court, but the ruling is still pending.
Biden has pledged to protect DACA, but a court ruling against it could prevent Biden from keeping the program in place.
As of right now, Biden plans to introduce an immigration reform bill that would grant automatic green cards to DACA immigrants, as well as those with Temporary Protected Status. This plan would include a path to amnesty for the millions of illegal immigrants living in the U.S.
