Silicon Valley Elites Lash Out over Trump’s Temporary Halt on Refugees

Tech giants across Silicon Valley, such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Netflix, have come out in opposition of President Donald Trump’s temporary halt on refugees from certain countries entering the United States.

iNews reports that tech leaders from across Silicon Valley have condemned the temporary halt as “un-American” and “morally wrong.” Apple CEO Tim Cook was one of the first to speak out, saying in a company wide email, “In my conversations with officials here in Washington this week, I’ve made it clear that Apple believes deeply in the importance of immigration — both to our company and to our nation’s future.”

Cook claimed, “Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do.” He also said Apple would be reaching out to the White House “to  explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company.”

Google’s Chief Executive Officer, Sundar Pichai, sent a note to Google employees saying, “It’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues. We’ve always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so.”

A Google spokeswoman clarified the company’s stance on the executive order and, similarly to Apple, promised to bring their concerns to the White House, “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. We’ll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere.”

Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin was also spotted at protests outside San Francisco airport,

Google cofounder Sergey Brin at SFO protest: "I'm here because I'm a refugee." (Photo from Matt Kang/Forbes) pic.twitter.com/GwhsSwDPLT

— Ryan Mac (@RMac18) January 29, 2017

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella included his thoughts on the executive order within a company wide email sent by president Brad Smith to employees. “As a company, Microsoft believes in a strong and balanced high-skilled immigration system,” Smith wrote. “We believe that these types of immigration policies are good for people, good for business, and good for innovation. That’s why we’ve long worked to stand up for and raise these issues with people in governments. We will continue to do that.” Nadella added, “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.”

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in a Facebook post, “Trump’s actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. 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.”

Pro-open borders Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated in a Facebook post, “My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscilla’s parents were refugees from China and Vietnam. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that.”

In a short and brief post, Twitter, which has previously discussed banning President Trump’s account, stated,

Twitter is built by immigrants of all religions. We stand for and with them, always.

— Twitter (@Twitter) January 29, 2017

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan_ or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com