Tech 💻 leaders unite to support Dreamers affected by Trump's decision

Tech giants are near-unanimous in condemning the Trump administration's plans to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

But some are going further than others in promising to help employees affected by the move.

Microsoft and Apple are offering the most full-throated defense of "Dreamers"—undocumented individuals who have been in the US since they were young and registered with the federal government to get work permits.

"If Congress fails to act, our company will exercise its legal rights properly to help protect our employees," Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith wrote in a blog post Tuesday, shortly after US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the administration would stop accepting new applications and seek to "wind down" the program.

"If the government seeks to deport any one of them, we will provide and pay for their legal counsel," Smith wrote, of the 39 Dreamers who work at Microsoft. He said the company would also seek to intervene in those cases.

Apple CEO Tim Cook likewise condemned the Trump administration's decision and pledged in a note to employees to offer any employees affected by the change the “support they need, including the advice of immigration experts,” Recodereported. Cook also tweetedthat he stands with Apple's DACA employees.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, meanwhile, spoke out against the decision to rescind DACA and encouraged users to call Congress to support a measure that would enact the DACA program—created by an executive order by then-President Obama—into law. But he stopped short of offering to cover legal expenses for affected employees. Facebook did not respond to a request for comment.

UCJ, UNILORIN.