Facebook CEO speaks out in support of immigration reform

facebook logoThe Chief Executive Officer of social media giant Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, says that the stakes are high when it comes to the issue of immigration reform.  Politico says that Zuckerberg strongly believes that a comprehensive reform of the immigration laws in the United States is of vital importance to the future of the technology industry in the country.

The comments are the very first time that Zuckerberg has made public his feelings over the issue of immigration reform, although he has for some time been a member of the advocacy group FWD.us.  “This is something that we believe is really important for the future of our country – and for us to do what’s right,” Zuckerberg told an audience at California’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

During the California screening of the immigrant documentary “Documented,” Zuckerberg remembered teaching students in California’s East Menlo Park, and how many of them were worried about the fact that they would not be able to get into college due to the fact that they were technically living illegally in the United States.  A source claims that one of the primary motivations behind Zuckerberg’s attendance of the showing was so that he could make a public case for offering a path to US citizenship for undocumented immigrants, of whom there are estimated to be around 11 million in the country.

FWD.us has been advocating for a need for additional work visas in the technology industry in addition to a better system for access to a green card, according to Politico.