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by John Carney11 Jan 2018729
Corporate America is not leaving it to lawmakers and the White House to reach a deal to determine the fate of millions of illegal foreign workers whose temporary permission to work in the U.S. is set to expire early this year.

Instead, more than 100 corporate leaders are demanding immediate and permanent amnesty for millions of so-called “Dreamers.”

Just days after President Donald Trump hosted Democratic and Republican lawmakers at the White House to discuss legislation that would authorize funding for a border wall and end chain migration while also providing legal protections for around 700,000 foreign workers under the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, corporate leaders have signed a letter urging lawmakers to enact a dramatically expanded amnesty program.

Although the letter cites the potential end of DACA as a reason for urgent action, it calls for a much broader amnesty program that would include all the so-called “Dreamers,” a broader group than the 700,000 DACA recipients. By most estimates, the broader group would include millions of illegal foreign workers rather than hundreds of thousands.

“We write to urge Congress to act immediately and pass a permanent bipartisan legislative solution to enable Dreamers who are currently living, working, and contributing to our communities to continue doing so,” the letter states. “The imminent termination of the DACA program is creating an impending crisis for workforces across the country.”

The letter is short of specifics, failing to cite any evidence that the end of DACA would create a “crisis” for American businesses. The total number of DACA workers amounts to less than one-half of one percent of the American workforce, suggesting that the loss of these workers could be easily absorbed.