Standing with America’s Dreamers

This past Sunday, as soon as the airport reopened for flights, my wife and I traveled to Houston to visit with employees and families impacted by Hurricane Harvey. I needed to witness for myself what our friends and colleagues were going through, because Houston is more than just a hub for us; it is our home, where more than 11,000 United family members work, live and raise their families.

As we began our descent into Houston, I looked out from my airplane window to view the damage the storm left behind in its wake.

Flood waters stretched across the city as far as the eye could see. Yet, once I got an up-close view, visiting with residents and families on the ground struggling to recover, it was clear that the toll of human suffering and loss was far greater and more tragic than any physical damage. 

That is especially true for the tens of thousands of families in the Houston area who are living in the shadows, fearing to seek shelter, rescue and medical attention because they are undocumented, and whose situation became immeasurably more dire in the days following my visit when the administration announced its intention to rescind protections for DACA recipients – the Dreamers.

I write this as Houston remains flooded and Hurricane Irma gathers frightening speed and power, approaching my home state of Florida. So many young people will be fearing that storm not only for the threat of physical harm and loss it portends, but also because of the threat it poses to their futures in America, the only home they’ve ever known.  That is simply not right. 

I am the CEO of United Airlines, a company that employs tens of thousands of Americans working here and abroad. We are as diverse as the communities we serve, and so are our opinions. My leadership role carries with it certain obligations to represent and reflect all viewpoints.  I respect everyone’s opinion, especially on a matter as complicated as immigration, and I do not presume to speak for anyone else’s beliefs except my own. I certainly have no monopoly on wisdom; I can only speak from my own experience.   

But, I am also an immigrant named Oscar Munoz, born and raised for a time in Mexico and someone who has been immensely blessed by this country. That, too, carries certain obligations to speak on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves for fear of losing their homes, their families and their futures.  

I know what it is to look over the horizon toward America and believe in its promise for a better life. As a young boy, I lived in Mexico and was raised by my maternal grandmother. Though she worked hard, we did not have a home to call our own. My earliest memories are of traveling between nearby towns as either friends or relatives would be kind enough to let us stay for a while.

I vividly remember holding her hand as we’d knock on the doors of houses where I had never been before and the gratitude we would feel when those doors generously opened to us. Ultimately, America opened its doors to me and gave me opportunities that exist nowhere else in the world.

It is from that privileged experience that I feel compelled to speak out in defense of DACA and urge the administration to reconsider its position. 

In doing so, I join the majority of Americans who support extending DACA.  

I also join the vast majority of business leaders who know the invaluable contributions these young people make to our companies and economy, to our universities and entrepreneurial culture, to their communities and their families. 

What the storms of the past few days put into sharp focus is a kind of suffering and fear that actually exists every day among undocumented people in cities across the country, from L.A. to Chicago, Dallas to Atlanta, New York to Miami.

Ending DACA makes their suffering and fear worse, not better, and in the end we all pay the price for it.

While this issue is undoubtedly personal for me, the case for preserving DACA can be made purely pragmatically. So many of the very best and most valuable companies in our country do – and are the better for it.

Of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies, nearly three-quarters employ DACA recipients. Rescinding the program would cost those companies billions of dollars, devastate local economies and slash the country’s GDP.  

More compelling than the reasons we shouldn’t abandon these young people are the positive reasons why we ought to stand with them. 

It’s not merely about creating value for our economy; it is about being true to our values as a nation, one built on fairness, a sense of decency and equality of opportunity. It’s about giving expression to who we are as a country and what we most aspire to be. 

I’ve met many young people over the years who were brought to this country by their parents as children through no fault of their own. There is almost no difference between my story and theirs except for a little bit of luck and the right set of circumstances. And, if we look into our hearts, we probably can all see a little bit of ourselves in their struggle. 

These young people embody all the values we say we stand for as Americans: they study and work hard; they keep out of trouble and contribute to their communities; they answer the call to service and carry our flag into battle on our behalf. We should believe in them at least as much as they believe in us.

I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. But, I hope we can all agree that we have an obligation to broaden America’s promise, not narrow it. As Americans, we’ve always believed that by lighting someone else’s candle, our own burns brighter. 

That’s the spirit, at least, in which I offer these simple reflections.

Humbly,

Oscar Munoz