On Tuesday, Brad Smith, the chief legal officer and president of Microsoft, said that he fears there is a ‘tough’ summer ahead for immigration issues, such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which the Trump administration has been attempting to end. Microsoft wants to see the program protected, and also supports immigration as a whole to ensure the most talented individuals can be hired by companies in the US.
Smith, who has been outspoken in his criticism of the attempt to close down the deferred action, told Kara Swisher from Recode, that he does not see much chance of a political compromise happening that will enable the program to remain intact. He added that he does think there is room for common ground if only people wanted to look for it.
Smith also believes that the Trump administration may attempt to remove the authorization for the spouses of those in the country on H-1B US visas to also work in the US, and even roll back the ability to work via US visas for people with STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) degrees, which he says would be a tragedy and could result in legal action by Microsoft.
Smith says that the company needs to use whatever actions it can, including its lawyers, and even the possibility of allowing its employees to work in Canada rather than the US, if necessary.