WBUR: Boston Business Leaders Blast Trump’s Decision To End DACA

Boston-area business leaders say they’re disappointed with the Trump administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivalsprogram.

The program, known as DACA, granted temporary legal status to about 800,000 people whose parents brought them to the country illegally as children — including about 8,000 here in Massachusetts.

Business leaders say ending the program is disruptive to businesses.

Tom Hopcroft, the head of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, a business network of hundreds of local companies, called it a “blow to our economy.”

“You just can’t overstate the impact that immigrants and their children are having on our economy,” Hopcroft said. “Any attempt to disrupt the flow of this talent, of these job creators, of these innovators into our country is going to put us at a significant disadvantage compared to other countries.”

Tech companies are particularly concerned about being able to attract talent from around the world. They say ending DACA could discourage people from seeing the U.S. as a place for business opportunities.

“It just puts a chill on retaining and attracting the best workers in the world,” said Steven Holtzman, the CEO of Boston-based biotech company Decibel Therapeutics.

Read the full story from WBUR: “Boston Business Leaders Blast Trump’s Decision To End DACA”