Tech Companies Consider Joint Letter to Trump Opposing Travel Ban
February 02 2017 - 3:53AM
Dow Jones News
By Greg Bensinger and Laura Stevens
A group of companies including some of the biggest names in the
technology industry are considering a joint letter to President
Donald Trump opposing his recent immigration order and offering to
work with the White House to develop different policies, people
familiar with the matter said.
Tech companies that have reviewed a draft letter and could
participate include Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com
Inc., eBay Inc., and Uber Technologies Inc., the people said. One
of the people said a number of non-tech companies are involved in
the effort as well.
The draft of the letter circulating among companies expresses
concern over Mr. Trump's executive order--which bars entry to the
U.S. by people from seven majority-Muslim nations out of concerns
about the risk of terrorism--saying it could affect "many visa
holders who work hard here in the U.S. and contribute to our
country's success."
"We stand ready to help your administration identify other
opportunities to ensure that our employees can travel with
predictability and without undue delay," reads the draft, a copy of
which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Discussions of the draft letter are still preliminary, and
decisions on who might sign it, what exactly it would say, and
whether it ultimately is sent haven't been completed, the people
said.
The planned letter opposing the order was reported earlier
Wednesday by Recode and Bloomberg.
The businesses' draft letter, which is addressed directly to Mr.
Trump, states the companies are willing to help the administration
create screening procedures for refugees beyond a blanket ban and
to help clarify the status of about 750,000 undocumented immigrants
admitted to the U.S. under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
program.
"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," the letter states.
Tech leaders were among the earliest critics of Mr. Trump's
immigration order, which was signed Friday, but executives from a
growing swath of U.S. companies also have warned that it could
negatively affect some of their employees and contradicts their
principles. The ban applies to citizens of Iran, Sudan, Somalia,
Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Syria for 90 days.
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an interview
Wednesday that his company is weighing legal action and continuing
to press the Trump administration to reverse the executive order on
immigration. Amazon on Monday said it submitted a declaration of
support for a suit filed by the Washington state attorney general
against the order.
A draft of a separate executive order under consideration by the
White House would take on a different area of immigration policy
that affects businesses more directly: the visa programs for
skilled workers favored by technology and other companies.
--Jack Nicas and Jay Greene contributed to this article.
Write to Greg Bensinger at greg.bensinger@wsj.com and Laura
Stevens at laura.stevens@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 02, 2017 03:38 ET (08:38 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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