Marriott International on Tuesday pledged support for
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) after the Trump administration opted to end the program that protects an estimated 800,000 young
undocumented immigrants.
"Marriott
International has long supported a holistic approach to immigration reform to
fix our nation's broken immigration system, which includes support for the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program," the company said
in a statement. "We remain committed to working with Congress on broad
immigration reform efforts and call on members to urgently pass the DREAM Act
or other legislation to provide the certainty and permanent solution that DACA
individuals deserve to remain valuable contributors to our society and economy."
The company released the statement after the Trump administration
said it would end the program, which the Obama administration launched in 2012.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will cease processing applications for
DACA. The administration will renew permits for people whose DACA status
expires within the next six months, effectively providing Congress that amount
of time to potentially save DACA or at least parts of it.
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson has previously expressed his
support for programs enabling undocumented immigrants to achieve legal status,
most clearly in an open letter he wrote to President Donald Trump just after
last year's election.
"Once steps have been made to enhance security on our
borders, we should move swiftly to figure out what to do with the undocumented
immigrants already here," Sorenson wrote in the letter. "Let's take
appropriate steps to ensure that these 11 million people can help make America
stronger by paying taxes, investing in the future and continuing to contribute
to our communities. It is impractical and heartless to think that we will evict
all these people. Let's find a way to let them live their lives productively."