Microsoft distances itself from US border row after boasting of work with government

James Cook 19 June 2018 • 11:07am

Microsoft issued a strongly worded statement in which it said it was "dismayed" by the separation of families on the US-Mexico border. Credit: Bloomberg

Microsoft has said that it is “dismayed” by the US government’s policy of separating families at the US border after it was criticised for working with the national border agency.

The American technology giant boasted about a commercial deal with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in January, when it said it was "proud" to work with the agency.

Microsoft provides cloud computing to ICE through the company's Azure service, while the company has also said its technology can allow the US government to improve its facial recognition software.

However, when the company’s work with ICE began to attract more criticism on social media, an employee deleted a section of a recent blog post describing its work with ICE.

In a January blog post, Microsoft says it’s “proud” to be building cloud infrastructure for ICE.

Microsoft’s work for ICE apparently includes helping the agency “utilize deep learning capabilities to accelerate facial recognition and identification” https://t.co/GmSaTtgNbZ
— Trevor Timm (@trevortimm) June 18, 2018

The section was quickly restored, and Microsoft said deleting part of the statement “was a mistake and as soon as it was noticed the blog was reverted to previous language.”

The company then distanced itself from ICE’s policy of separating illegal immigrant families at the US-Mexico border. “Microsoft is not working with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or US Customs and Border Protection on any projects related to separating children from their families at the border,” a spokesman said.

“Microsoft is dismayed by the forcible separation of children from their families at the border. Family unification has been a fundamental tenet of American policy and law since the end of World War II.”

“As a company Microsoft has worked for over 20 years to combine technology with the rule of law to ensure that children who are refugees and immigrants can remain with their parents. We need to continue to build on this noble tradition rather than change course now. We urge the administration to change its policy and Congress to pass legislation ensuring children are no longer separated from their families.”

The forced separation of immigrant families has become a prominent issue in the US following video and audio recordings from facilities where immigrant children have been detained.

Donald Trump has defended the policy of separating families and said on Monday that criminals have used children like a “Trojan horse.” The President said that immigrants were bringing "death and destruction” to America. “They are thieves and murderers and so much else,” he added.