Microsoft Distances Its ICE Contract From Family Separations, While Denouncing U.S. Policy
June 20 2018 - 11:51AM
Dow Jones News
By Yoree Koh
Microsoft Corp. executives joined other tech leaders in
denouncing the U.S. handling of migrant families but stopped short
of heeding calls from some employees to end work with Immigration
and Customs Enforcement over the agency's role in separating
children from their parents.
Chief Executive Satya Nadella described the Trump
administration's border policy as "simply cruel and abusive, and we
are standing for change," in a letter to employees that he posted
online Tuesday.
His comments were part of a wider tech industry protest against
the administration's "zero-tolerance" policy of detaining adult
immigrants at the border with Mexico, leading to the forced
separation of more than 2,000 children from their parents in less
than two months.
Other prominent tech CEOs speaking out about the border policy
included Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet Inc.'s Google division,
who tweeted "the stories and images of families being separated at
the border are gut-wrenching." Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Dara
Khosrowshahi tweeted the policy is "just plain wrong," and that
speaking as a father and immigrant, the stories "break my
heart."
Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook, in an interview with the Irish Times,
described the separations as "inhumane," while Tesla Inc. CEO Elon
Musk said in a series of tweets that if there was any way to help
the children at the border, he would.
The comments reflect the tech industry's volatile relationship
with the Trump administration.
Tech companies have agreed with the White House in some areas,
such as corporate-tax overhaul, but executives and employees have
been unusually vocal critics in others -- particularly immigration
policy, which is especially sensitive in an industry where many
employees and leaders were born overseas.
In early 2017, employees and executives industrywide railed
against the U.S. temporary travel ban placed on foreign nationals
from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
Mr. Nadella's remarks Tuesday came after more than a hundred
employees signed an open letter posted on an internal message board
earlier in the day demanding the company no longer provide
technology to ICE in a contract that the employees in the letter
said is valued at $19.4 million.
"As the people who build the technologies that Microsoft profits
from, we refuse to be complicit," employees said in the letter,
which was posted online by the New York Times. "We are part of a
growing movement, comprised of many across the industry who
recognize the grave responsibility that those creating powerful
technology have to ensure what they build is used for good, and not
for harm."
In responding to employees, Mr. Nadella spoke about being an
immigrant and how his dream wouldn't have been possible
elsewhere.
Mr. Nadella said Microsoft has no plans to end its ties with
ICE, and that its work isn't related to the controversial new
policy. "I want to be clear: Microsoft is not working with the U.S.
government on any projects related to separating children from
their families at the border."
Microsoft President Brad Smith penned an extensive blog post
detailing the company's stance on specific immigration policies.
Neither said the company would cease its work with ICE.
Microsoft's work with the agency gained social-media attention
in light of a blog post the company published in January touting
its ties with ICE. In the post, Microsoft said the department "is
currently implementing transformative technologies for homeland
security and public safety, and we're proud to support this work
with our mission-critical cloud."
Mr. Nadella's letter Tuesday struck a different tone. He wrote:
"Our current cloud engagement with U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) is supporting legacy mail, calendar, messaging
and document management workloads."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 20, 2018 11:36 ET (15:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024