NEW YORK — Technology companies and executives of other industries criticized the Trump administration for its plan to undo protections for thousands of young immigrants and called on Congress to help them.

President Donald Trump said he will dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, an Obama-era initiative that allowed young people who were brought into the U.S. illegally as children to work legally in the U.S.

Winding down the program could put the immigrants at risk of being sent back to the countries of their birth.

Tech companies have pushed back against efforts to curb immigration, which they see as vital to their industry. Immigrants make up about one-quarter of the U.S. technology and science work force, and many in Silicon Valley feel a personal connection to the issue.

On Tuesday, Microsoft's president, Brad Smith, said in a blog post that Congress should “move quickly with new legislation to protect these 800,000 Dreamers,” using a popular term for the young immigrants. Notably, Smith explicitly urged that immigration legislation take precedence over tax reform.

Microsoft will also help affected employees with attorneys, amicus briefs and, when appropriate, direct legal intervention. “If Dreamers who are our employees are in court, we will be by their side,” Smith wrote. He said there are 39 affected employees that the company knows of.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the decision “a sad day for our country” in a post, adding that it is “particularly cruel to offer young people the American Dream, encourage them to come out of the shadows and trust our government, and then punish them for it.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a note to employees that he was “deeply dismayed that 800,000 Americans — including more than 250 of our Apple co-workers — may soon find themselves cast out of the only country they've ever called home.” He said Apple will work with Congress on legislation “that provides permanent protections for all the Dreamers in our country” and that the company will support employees in need.

Uber's chief technology officer, Thuan Pham, who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam, wrote that the company will “stand by immigrants who want nothing more than to contribute to our country and pursue the American Dream.”