Apple today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the DACA program — an Obama-era policy that gave some legal status to children of illegal immigrants. The Trump Administration ordered it shut down, and it’s in legal limbo.
The “friend of the court” filing by Apple was signed by CEO Tim Cook, and it’s not the first time he has spoken up for the “Dreamers.”
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program protects people who were brought to the U.S. as children. They aren’t being offered citizenship, but neither are they subject to deportation. They are permitted to work, and 443 are employed at Apple.
The company’s amicus curiae filing with the Supreme Court defends them and all DACA recipients. It reads in part “Apple and companies like it would be weaker and less competitive without these extraordinary individuals in our workforce. They have earned the right to continue to contribute to our company and to our society.”
Tim Cook frequently stands up for DACA
The document was signed by Cook as well as Dierdre O’Brien, SVP for Retail and People.
Apple’s chief executive has spoken out on to defend the Dreamers before. At the beginning of this year, Cook joined more than 100 prominent CEOs in signing an open letter urging Congress to pass legislation to protect the DACA program. And he took to Twitter to defend Apple employees in this program back in 2017. There are other examples, too.
Cook’s pro-immigration stance puts him at odds with President Trump. Nevertheless, the two men seem to have a cordial relationship, and speak with each other frequently.
