Wall Street Journal
By Evelyn Ruli
August 6, 2013
On Monday night in San Francisco, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took one of his most public political stands to date in a rare speech.
He spoke to a largely tech-community audience before a screening of Documented, a film by Jose Antonio Vargas about his life as an undocumented immigrant. The event was hosted by Fwd.us, the political advocacy group led by Zuckerberg, his former Harvard roommate Joe Green, and other prominent tech leaders.
Zuckerberg, dressed in his standard uniform of a grey hoodie and jeans, was animated as he took his mark on center stage before a packed audience. He described the turnout as “amazing,” before laying out his personal reasons for backing the immigration cause. The speech was a notable departure for Zuckerberg, who usually confines his public addresses to announcements about Facebook products and discussions about the future of communication.
This time he spoke about his initial interest in education reform and the influence of his wife Priscilla Chan, who prodded him to “teach” himself about the issues. His dinner conversations with Chan eventually led Zuckerberg to teach a semester at a middle school in East Menlo Park, Calif.
One day, he recalled, he asked his students what they were most worried about. One student said he didn’t know if he could go to college because he was undocumented, Zuckerberg said. That moment prompted him to talk to his friends in technology, the CEO said, leading to conversations that eventually formed the foundation of Fwd.us.
Zuckerberg lamented that immigration is usually discussed as two issues: reform for skilled workers (with H-1B visas) and then reform for everyone else. He reiterated that he was in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, because “anyone who knows a dreamer, knows they are not two separate issues.”
Afterwards, he introduced Vargas, briefly clasping in an embrace.
The address, which was filmed by several members of the media, demonstrates Zuckerberg’s growing public embrace of immigration reform. When Fwd.us was first announced this spring, he penned a lengthy column for the Washington Post. But since then, the group has been criticized for serving its own interests and supporting the campaigns of politicians who have controversial stances on other issues, such as the environment. Some early backers of the group, such as Elon Musk, have pulled their support.
For the organizers of Fwd.us, the screening was an opportunity to reiterate the founders’ support of comprehensive immigration reform and defend its mission. In a panel discussion after the screening, Green asked the panelists what their reaction was to criticism that tech leaders only want immigration reform so they can hire cheaper foreign workers. Andrew Mason, the former CEO of Groupon, responded bluntly, “It’s just an ethical issue.”
On Monday, Zuckerberg tried to stay above the controversy. He said he was “heartened” by the tech community’s support, and described the campaign as critical to the country’s future.
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