A letter was just sent to US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas by Google, Amazon, and other major corporations.
HIGHLIGHTS
Google and Amazon have requested the US government to safeguard so-called "documented dreamers."
Over 2 lakh children's immigration status might be jeopardised due to procedural delays.
Google is also working with senators to approve the America's Children Act.
Tech corporations such as Amazon and Alphabet's Google said on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden's administration must safeguard young adults who may lose their US legal status due to processing delays for permanent residency.
Foreigners under the age of 21 are no longer permitted to stay in the United States on their parents' work visas. They must depart if their own visa applications are not processed by that birthday, which is typically the case due to pandemic-related delays.
Unlike the millions of illegal immigrants known as "Dreamers," who have been eligible for temporary work permits, these "documented Dreamers" — a group of over 2,00,000 people — have not been granted relief.
Businesses are afraid about losing potential employees due to the country's record-low jobless rate.
The tech companies teamed up with industry and lawyer associations in a letter to US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas late Monday, urging him to "establish more robust ageing out policies" that would allow young people to stay in the US while their permanent residency applications were being processed.
In a statement, the agency said it was evaluating all laws and intended to increase the issue of permanent permits, or Green Cards, "to guarantee documented Dreamers can achieve residence in the United States before they turn 21."
The administration might grant a short reprieve, according to Karan Bhatia, Google vice president of government affairs and public policy, by reading rules more positively.
Google also backs bipartisan efforts in Congress to enact the America's Children Act, which would grant documented Dreamers a route to citizenship.
Some Google employees have been hesitant to work in the United States because of concerns about their children's status, according to Bhatia.
"There is fierce rivalry throughout the world to be on the cutting edge of technology, and the only way to get there is to have the finest talent in the world," he added.
"We perform our best and most inventive work in the United States, so having these people there would be ideal for them to be fully used."
IBM, Salesforce, Twitter, and Uber were among the other signatories to the letter.
