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Here's What Silicon Valley Is Saying About Trump's Immigration Ban

Tech execs from Google, Microsoft, Netflix, and more had a lot to say about Trump's controversial ban.

January 29, 2017
How the Trump Administration Could Affect Tech

President Trump on Friday signed an Executive Order that limits immigration from seven countries for 90 days: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Overnight, however, reports emerged of people who were en route to the US when Trump signed the executive order being detained at US airports or stopped from returning home to the US.

Protestors swarmed major US airports in New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle, and more. Late in the evening, a federal judge in Brooklyn stayed a portion of the order to prevent deportations. Similar orders followed in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Washington state, but confusion complicated the process.

Caught up in that confusion were those who served as US military interpreters in Iraq, green card holders, children, the elderly, doctors, and employees of some of the top US tech firms. Google, for example, said at least 187 workers and their families are affected.

"It's painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a memo obtained by BuzzFeed.

"In times of uncertainty, our values remain the best guide. We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," wrote Pichai, who came to the US from India to study at Stanford in 1993. "We've always made our views on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so."

Google co-founder Sergey Brin was spotted at the protest at San Francisco International Airport. He told reporters that he was there in a personal capacity; Brin left the Soviet Union with his family at age 6.

In an email to employees, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the ban "is not a policy we support.

"Apple is open. Open to everyone, no matter where they come from, which language they speak, who they love or how they worship. Our employees represent the finest talent in the world, and our team hails from every corner of the globe," Cook wrote.

Microsoft chief Satya Nadella, who left India to study electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 1980s, pointed employees to a blog post from Brad Smith, Redmond's president and chief legal office.

"As an immigrant and as a CEO, I've both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world. We will continue to advocate on this important topic," Nadella wrote, calling out a particular passage in Smith's post that says Microsoft believes "immigration laws can and should protect the public without sacrificing people's freedom of expression or religion."

Amazon also sent a memo to employees, in which it said the company "has been committed to equal rights, tolerance and diversity — and we always will be. As we've grown the company, we've worked hard to attract talented people from all over the world, and we believe this is one of the things that makes Amazon great — a diverse workforce helps us build better products for customers."

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said he was "concerned" by Trump's order, pointing out that his great grandparents came to the US from Germany, Austria, and Poland, while his wife's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam.

"We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat," he wrote. "Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don't pose a threat will live in fear of deportation.

"We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today."

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter—a favorite means of communication for President Trump—tweeted that the executive order "goes against our principles" and is wrong. His company also pledged to "stand for and with" immigrants or all religions.

Netflix chief Reed Hastings took a stronger stance and called the order un-American.

"Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all," Hastings wrote in a Facebook post. "Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe. A very sad week, and more to come with the lives of over 600,000 Dreamers here in a America under imminent threat. It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity."

Box CEO Aaron Levie had similarly sharp words for the Trump administration.

Tesla and SpaceX's Elon Musk, who became a US citizen in 2002, took some heat for serving on President Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum alongside tech execs like Uber's Travis Kalanick, IBM CEO Ginni Rommety, and GM CEO Mary Barra. This weekend, he argued that a blanket ban was not the best approach.

Later, he called on people to read Trump's order and make suggestions on how to fix it, which he pledged to present to Trump.

On Facebook, Uber's Kalanick posted a memo he sent to staff about the order, which he says affected a "dozen or so [Uber] employees," like those who are legal US residents but not naturalized citizens. He also pledged to compensate drivers who are now stuck overseas and unable to return to the US.

"While every government has their own immigration controls, allowing people from all around the world to come here and make America their home has largely been the U.S.'s policy since its founding. That means this ban will impact many innocent people—an issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trump's first business advisory group meeting," Kalanick wrote.

The Uber CEO went on to explain that he joined Trump's advisory board because "we've taken the view that in order to serve cities you need to give their citizens a voice, a seat at the table."

Uber, however, came under fire Saturday night when it continued to pick up passengers at JFK Airport in New York despite a one-hour strike by local taxi drivers in solidarity with those being detained. Soon, #DeleteUber was trending on Twitter in the area.

Logan Green, CEO of Lyft, meanwhile, argued that "Trump's immigration ban is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values." The company said it will donate $1 million to the ACLU over the next four years.

Slack chief Stewart Butterfield joined other Silicon Valley execs to pledge a $10,000 match donation for the ACLU. He shared that his "grandfather came from Poland between the wars, at 17, sponsored by an elder sister. Two more siblings made it. Everyone else died."

Mozilla chief Chris Beard said in a blog post that "The immigration ban imposed by Friday's executive order is overly broad and its implementation is highly disruptive to fostering a culture of innovation and economic growth.

"The executive order ignores the single truth that we have come to know; talented immigrants have had outsized contributions to the growth and prosperity of the United States and countries around the world. Diversity in all of its forms is crucial to growth, innovation and a healthy, inclusive society," Beard wrote.

Jeff Lawson, co-founder of Twilio, said on Medium that "we've betrayed one of our most cherished values" with the immigration ban. "Our enemy is not terror, it is losing our soul while fighting terror. America is stronger than this," he wrote.

Chad Dickerson, CEO of Etsy expressed a similar sentiment.

For those stuck overseas, meanwhile, Airbnb said it will offer "free housing."

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