Jeff Bezos donates $33 million for DACA scholarships

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently donated millions of dollars to TheDream.US, a national scholarship fund for illegal immigrant students.

The billionaire owner of The Washington Post and his wife donated $33 million to the group, which supports DACA recipients, marking the largest donation in the organization's history.

“MacKenzie and I are honored to be able to help today’s Dreamers by funding these scholarships,” Bezos remarked in a press release, which noted that his donation will “fund 1,000 college scholarships for Dreamers.”

[RELATED: California to provide $30 million to DACA recipients]

“He landed in this country alone and unable to speak English,” Bezos continued, speaking of his father who immigrated to the U.S. when he was 16. “With a lot of grit and determination—and the help of some remarkable organizations in Delaware—my dad became an outstanding citizen, and he continues to give back to the country that he feels blessed him in so many ways.”

According to CNBC, Bezos joined 100 other business leaders in sending a letter in support of DACA to congressional leaders, with Tim Cook of Apple, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook also signing their names to letter.

“We write to urge Congress to act immediately and pass a permanent bipartisan legislative solution to enable Dreamers who are currently living, working, and contributing to our communities to continue doing so,” the letter states. “The imminent termination of the DACA program is creating an impending crisis for workforces across the country.”

TheDream.US offers two scholarships—one that provides up to $80,000 for a bachelor’s degree and another that awards between $14,500 and $29,000 for those who have already completed an associates degree program.

The organization’s National Scholarship is offered to individuals with DACA or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who have graduated high school or community college, while its Opportunity Scholarship is specifically for individuals who “live in targeted, locked-out states that do not offer in-state tuition to DREAMers.”

[RELATED: DACA lawsuits show universities fear loss of tuition revenue]

In addition to its scholarships, TheDream.US partners with colleges and universities “that are committed to serving and graduating DREAMers,” with partner institutions providing DACA recipients with a “designated Scholar Advisor” for “support and assistance to address all of the emotional, lifestyle, and financial challenges that may prevent our Scholars from completing college.”

Some of the partner institutions include Arizona State University, California State University, Colorado State University, the University of Central Florida, Rutgers University, Texas A&M University, and George Mason University.

A recent report from The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Bezos tenth for charitable giving among billionaires in the United States, listing well over $200 million in donations to higher education that Bezos has made in recent years.

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