Google backs Biden's immigration plans, pledging $250,000 to help 'Dreamers' settle in the US

• Google has backed President-elect Joe Biden's plan to help 'Dreamers' settle in the US, pledging $250,000 to the cause.
• Biden previously suggested 'Dreamers', residents brought to the US illegally as children, should be granted citizenship 'immediately.'
• A host of Big Tech companies previously bashed Donald Trump's freeze on immigration visas that Silicon Valley firms depend on to maintain a competitive edge.
• In a blog post, Google SVP Kent Walker said it was "important that Dreamers have a chance to apply for protection."
• Are you a current or former Googler with more to share? You can contact this reporter securely using the encrypted messaging app Signal (+447801985586) or email (mcoulter@businessinsider.com). Reach out using a nonwork device.

Google has come out in support of President-elect Joe Biden's planned immigration reforms, pledging $250,000 to help undocumented "Dreamers" settle in the US.

The company will donate the money to United We Dream, an organization that helps immigrants unlawfully living in the US find work and avoid deportation.

Earlier this year Google, alongside Apple, Amazon and others, blasted President Trump for freezing a range of immigration visas, branding the move "unbelievably bad policy".

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Silicon Valley companies rely on H1-B visas in particular to import engineering talent from around the world, helping them maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly global market. In 2019, Google and Amazon were each granted roughly 9,000 H1-B visa applications. Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, came to the US from India on an H1-B visa.

Last week, Biden said he would bring new immigration legislation to Congress "immediately" after taking office on January 20, but warned that implementing new laws could take time.

On the campaign trail in 2019, the President-elect suggested the more than 800,000 US residents who were brought to the children illegally as children, referred to as "Dreamers", should be granted citizenship.

In a blog post published on Wednesday, Google senior vice president Kent Walker said it was "important that Dreamers have a chance to apply for protection."

"We will support efforts by the new Congress and incoming Administration to pass comprehensive immigration reform that improves employment-based visa programs that enhance American competitiveness, gives greater assurance to immigrant workers and employers, and promotes better and more humane immigration processing and border security practices," he said.

"We need legislation that not only protects Dreamers, but also delivers other much-needed reforms.

"We will support efforts by the new Congress and incoming Administration to pass comprehensive immigration reform that improves employment-based visa programs that enhance American competitiveness, gives greater assurance to immigrant workers and employers, and promotes better and more humane immigration processing and border security practices."

Business Insider approached Google for further comment.