Mark Zuckerberg's Bold Stance on Immigration Is Going Viral
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On Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg voiced his support for President Barack Obama's executive actions to prevent the deportation of undocumented immigrant children in the U.S. Now, his Facebook post about the importance of inclusiveness and opportunity for marginalized communities is going viral.
AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez - apimages.com
"As I travel around the world, I see many nations turning inwards," Zuckerberg wrote. "I hear growing voices for building walls and distancing people labeled as 'other.' Whether it's refugees, undocumented immigrants or underrepresented minorities, I hope we have the wisdom to understand that the best path forward is always to bring people together, not divide them."
Zuckerberg and 60 other leaders in the tech industry signed a brief that was submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. It asked the justices to support Obama's efforts to prevent the deportation of some undocumented immigrants and allow them to continue to work legally in the country.
Here's part of the brief, obtained exclusively by Fusion.
Instead of inviting the economic contributions of immigrants, our immigration enforcement policies have often inhibited the productivity of U.S. companies and made it harder for them to compete in the global marketplace...
By contrast, the continuing threat of removal and other uncertainties facing undocumented individuals weaken our economy. The existence of a large class of unauthorized workers allows unscrupulous employers to take advantage of undocumented workers’ fear of deportation — for example, by refusing to pay them the minimum wage or by failing to comply with safety standards.
Zuckerberg believes that undocumented immigrants benefit the U.S.
While the Facebook founder argues that anti-immigrant policy has hurt the U.S. economy, he wrote on Facebook that he hopes "we find the compassion and courage to give everyone a fair shot, to treat everyone with respect and dignity, and do what we can to make this world better for all people — not just people who look like us or live near us."
Zuckerberg shared an anecdote from when he was teaching a class on entrepreneurship at a middle school. He said that some of his "best students were undocumented" and that fears of deportation led them to worry about whether they would be able to attend college in the future. Preventing such children from having the same opportunities as their peers is a problem that affects not only the individual, but the U.S. as a whole, Zuckerberg said.
"These are smart and hardworking kids who could grow up to be leaders in their communities and in the world," he wrote. "But despite having lived in the U.S. for as long as they can remember, they could be denied the chance to participate fully in the life of our country and reach their potential."
"We are a nation of immigrants. We are one world. And we are all connected. We must have the humanity to welcome in these children and to bring people together — and that's what we told the Supreme Court today."
