Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg reported to be co-founding new US political lobby group for immigration reform
Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly co-founding a political lobby group in the US expected to campaign for reform on immigration and education policy.
Reform: Zuckerberg has previously called for US policy changes
The Wall St Journal and San Francisco Chronicle were among American publications reporting the news on Tuesday although Facebook declined to comment. The move was said to be organised by Joe Green, Zuckerberg's old Harvard roommate, and involved a number of Silicon Valley-based tech names.
It is the latest in a number of recent moves towards politics from Zuckerberg, who co-wrote a letter to President Obama earlier this month - with Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and a number of other CEOs - calling the US immigration system "outdated and inefficient". The letter claimed reform was needed to address "the need for qualified, highly-skilled professionals, domestic and foreign" and said there were tens of thousands of unfulfilled jobs requiring highly skilled individuals.
Sources told the Chronicle that Republican strategist Jon Lerner was expected to be onboard, joined by conservative GOP consultant Rob Jesmer, a former strategist with the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Earlier this year, 28-year-old Zuckerberg hosted a fundraiser to support the re-election bid of New Jersey Governor and Republican Chris Christie, who is considered a possible contender for the US presidency in the future. Billionaire Zuckerberg once donated $100m to the troubled New Jersey public school system.
Silicon Valley and US immigration policy have been in conflict for a number of years due to struggles in the tech sector to obtain visas and green cards for immigrant workers with engineering, math and science skills.