Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak at the Time 100 Summit event on April 23, 2019, in New York.
Don Emmert | AFP | Getty Images
Apple CEO Tim Cook urged lawyers Thursday to pass immigration reform that would create a path to citizenship for immigrants known as “Dreamers.”
Cook issued the statement on behalf of the Business Roundtable, an influential group of prominent corporate leaders. Cook serves as chair of the group’s immigration committee.
The statement follows Cook’s claim on behalf of Dreamers and follows comments from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who recommended the bill Wednesday.
“Dreamers have been at the forefront of fighting the pandemic as healthcare workers, caring for our communities, and working in the issues and industries that will help America appear stronger on the other side of COVID-19, ”Cook wrote.
The Business Roundtable also called for further reform outside of the Dream and Promise Act to fix the “broken immigration system of the country”.
Dreamers are undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. The Dream Act would create a path to citizenship for about 2.5 million people, according to its authors. Democrats in the House are expected to move the bill forward this week.
Cook in particular has been very passionate about Dreamers. On Thursday, he said Apple is hiring 450 Dreamers in a tweet. In 2019, Cook co-authored a court-issued friend summary given to the Supreme Court with detailed statements about Apple’s multi-employee Dreamer. At the time, the court was debating whether the Trump administration’s decision to end the Obama-era program that protects Dreamers was legal.
“We do this here to emphasize that not only does Apple care as a company, but that we care as directors, colleagues and people,” Cook wrote at the time. “This is an issue we feel deeply about.”
The full Business Roundtable statement can be found below:
Dreamers – who came to America as children and are known as their only home – make a huge contribution to America and certainly to companies like ours. Dreamers have been committed to fighting the pandemic as a health care worker, caring for our communities, and working in the disciplines and industries that help America appears stronger on the other side of COVID-19. As we work to revitalize the U.S. economy, we need their continued contributions as equal partners in the American story, and we urge Members on both sides of the voting corridor to support for the American Dream and Promise Act to help make that possible.
Most Americans believe that standing up for Dreamers should be a priority. As the American Dream and Promise Act moves forward, the Business Roundtable urges policymakers to prioritize bipartisan and practical solutions to fix our broken immigration system, the rule of law imposed by the take action and respond to the urgent challenges ahead.