Google to pay fees for ‘Dreamers’
Google’s philanthropic arm plans to spend nearly $250,000 to cover application fees for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children who are seeking protection from deportation under an Obamaera program.
Google.org announced Wednesday that it would donate the money to the nonprofit United We Dream. The funds will benefit about 500 individuals who qualify under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA program beneficiaries are often informally called “Dreamers.”
The support for the program could bring renewed attention to the immigrants’ plight as change in the White House and Congress renews hopes that hostile policies under the Trump administration could soon be reversed.
Kent Walker, a top legal executive at the Mountain View company, wrote in a blog post that the donation would allow more applicants to enter the program and gain legal protection
as it faces a renewed legal threat brought by Texas and other states on constitutional grounds.
That case is before federal Judge Andrew Hanen. He previously struck down another Obamaera program designed to protect parents of Americans residing in the U.S. without permission. He indicated in the past that he believes DACA violates the law, although he declined to strike it down altogether.
Any decision Hanen makes at the district court level could be appealed to a higher circuit court and potentially return to the Supreme Court, where it would face longer odds with more conservatives now on the bench.
“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 wrote. “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.”
The program has already survived a legal challenge at the Supreme Court after Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the liberal wing of the court in ruling against the Trump administration’s efforts to wind down the program.
The Department of Homeland Security then issued a memo saying it would not accept new applications and would limit protections for recipients to one year from two.
A federal judge struck that down on a technicality, finding that the acting head of the government agency had not been properly appointed to the role.
Google’s move to support individuals potentially hurt by Trump administration policies comes as tech companies large and small have taken action against the president and some of his supporters. Google’s YouTube suspended Trump’s YouTube channel Tuesday, following moves by Facebook and Twitter to limit his postings in the wake of last week’s violent invasion of the Capitol.
Walker portrayed this effort as separate from those actions, saying Google also employs people protected under the DACA program and has signed on to friendof the court briefs in the past defending it when it has come under fire.
Other tech companies have spoken out in defense of the program in the past. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called on Congress to find a permanent solution for Dreamers and for people to call their representatives to press them on the issue.
Dozens of tech companies also signed on in support of a lawsuit brought by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to save the program.
Google and its employees have previously donated more than $1 million to support Dreamers and other immigration programs in the U.S., Walker said.
Google.org and Google employees have contributed more than $35 million in total to support causes supporting refugees and immigrants in the U.S. and abroad, according to Walker’s post.
Presidentelect Joe Biden has expressed fullthroated support for DACA, saying over the summer that Dreamers are Americans and promising to push for legislation protecting them and their families, many of whom are in the U.S. legally.
Almost 700,000 people were enrolled in the program as of 2017, with more having received protection since it was established in 2012.