WASHINGTON: Top executives from Apple, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Tesla, Facebook, Uber and other American companies finally coming together to address Trump’s travel ban restricting Syrian refugees and travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entry to the US.
The big tech come together to issue a joint letter to President Trump against ‘Muslim ban’, that sparked widespread protests across the US.
The letter written by Kara Swisher points out that America as a nation is “made stronger by immigrants,” and that the “recent executive order will affect many visa holders who work hard here in the United States and contribute to our country’s success.”
BREAKING: Big tech giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook along with CPG, manufacturing cos working on letter opposing Trump ban
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) February 2, 2017
“Dear President Trump,
Since the country’s birth, America has been the land of opportunity – welcoming newcomers and giving them the chance to build families, careers, and businesses in the United States. We are a nation made stronger by immigrants. As entrepreneurs and business leaders, our ability to grow our companies and create jobs depends on the contributions of immigrants from all backgrounds.
We share your goal of ensuring that our immigration system meets today’s security needs and keeps our country safe. We are concerned, however, that your recent executive order will affect many visa holders who work hard here in the United States and contribute to our country’s success. In a global economy, it is critical that we continue to attract the best and brightest from around the world. We welcome the changes your administration has made in recent days in how the Department of Homeland Security will implement the executive order, and we stand ready to help your administration identify other opportunities to ensure that our employees can travel with predictability and without undue delay.
Our nation’s compassion is a part of what makes it exceptional, and we are committed to helping your administration identify approaches for thorough screening without a blanket suspension of admissions under the U.S. Refugee Admissions program. While security and vetting procedures can and should always be subject to continuous evaluation and improvement, a blanket suspension is not the right approach.
Similarly, we stand ready to identify ways of helping to achieve your stated goal of bringing clarity to the future of the 750,000 Dreamers in this country under the protections of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in a way “that will make people happy and proud.” Removing these protections by barring renewals would effectively end the program and eliminate the ability for these Dreamers to work and live without the fear of deportation.
The business community shares your commitment to growing the American economy and expanding job creation across the country. We hire both thousands of Americans and some of the most talented people from abroad, who work together to help our companies succeed and expand our overall employment. As you contemplate changes to the nation’s complex and interconnected immigration policies, whether business and employment-based visas, refugees, or DACA, we hope that you will use us as a resource to help achieve immigration policies that both support the work of American businesses and reflect American values.
Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen), as part of new measures to “keep refugees and immigrants” out of America.”
Silicon Valley’s top executives and others openly opposed criticizing the move as “un-American” and called it bad for business.
“Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do… It is not a policy we support,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.
According to Wall Street Journal reports, Apple is even considering a lawsuit against President Trump’s immigration order.
WSJ quote Apple CEO Tim Cook as saying that “hundreds of Apple employees have been affected by the order,” and the company is in touch with “very, very senior people in the White House” in order to explain why the executive order needs to be repealed, reported The Indian Express.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote, “Like many of you, I’m concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump… We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That’s who we are.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai, an immigrant himself, has said, “We’re concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that create barriers to bringing great talent to the US.” Pichai said.
Microsoft’s Satya Nadella in a post on LinkedIn, said, “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.”
Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey also condemned the immigration order, saying the “humanitarian and economic impact of the ban is real and upsetting.”
“Twitter is built by immigrants of all religions. We stand for and with them, always,” Twitter said.
CEOs from e-commerce companies Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Coca-Cola Co. CEO Muhtar Kent, General Electric Co. CEO Jeff Immelt also reacted against Trump’s travel ban.
With PTI/IANS inputs