President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration are not sitting well with many leaders in the business community, particularly in the tech industry.
These titans of industry — who largely hail from the Silicon Valley area — not only view the travel ban on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries as discriminatory, but also detrimental to economic and technological growth, as well as their staffing needs.
TIM COOK, APPLE
“Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do,” Apple CEO Time Cook wrote in an email to staff. “I’ve heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support … In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, ‘We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.'”
And Cook apparently has no qualms expressing his opposition to the ban to President Trump, writing, “We have reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company.”
Cook also addressed how the travel ban is directly affecting the Cupertino, California, company’s employees, writing, “There are employees at Apple who are directly affected by yesterday’s immigration order. Our HR, Legal and Security teams are in contact with them, and Apple will do everything we can to support them.”
MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page on Friday, “I’m concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump. We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat. 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.”
SUNDAR PICHAI, GOOGLE
Like Apple’s Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai also addressed the impact of the ban on his employees.
“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,” Mr. Pichai said in an email to employees, obtained by The Wall Street Journal. “It’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues.”
TRAVIS KALANICK, UBER
The CEO of San Francisco-based Uber, Kalanick said the ban goes against American values.
“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,” Kalanick wrote in an email to staff that he shared on his Facebook page. “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.
SATYA NADELLA, MICROSOFT
Microsoft’s Indian-born CEO, Satya Nadella, addressed his own background in a Linkedin post.
“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,” he wrote. “We will continue to advocate on this important topic.”
AARON LEVIE, BOX
The CEO of Palo Alto, California-based enterprise cloud company Box, Levie tweeted, “On every level -moral, humanitarian, economic, logical, etc.- this ban is wrong and is completely antithetical to the principles of America.”
DREW HOUSTON, DROPBOX
“Executive orders affecting world’s most vulnerable are un-American,” tweeted Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox, the San Francisco-based file sharing service. “Dropbox embraces people from all countries and faiths.”
ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.