What do we lose if Dreamers lose their protected status?
BEFORE THE THREE-DAY government shutdown in January, more than 100 business leaders signed an open letter to Congress, urging it to find a way to extend the protections for the 800,000 people who immigrated to the United States illegally as children, but who are allowed to remain and work in the country under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals legislation. Fifty-four of those signatures—including Mary Barra of GM, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, and Brad Smith, president and chief legal offcer of Microsoft— represent companies in the fields of science and technology. Among the group’s concerns: “The imminent termination of the DACA program is creating an impending crisis for workforces across the country.” Political opinions aside, the fact remains that without DACA’s protection, many members of the American workforce could be deported. We found three DACA recipients who are in the United States legally and have chosen to work in industries regularly covered by Popular Mechanics.
BOE MENDEWALA
AGE: 27
OCCUPATION: PH.D. CANDIDATE AT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED
ORIGIN: MUMBAI, INDIA
This story is from the April 2018 edition of Popular Mechanics.
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