Tech industry is jointly rallying against Trump’s immigration ban

The protestors rallying against US President Donald Trump's Immigration ban outside the airport, roads and borders, holding banners that say, 'America is made of immigrants', is getting a strong backing from tech industry. As per a 2011 report from the Partnership for a New American Economy, 45 percent of high-tech companies in the Fortune 500 were founded by immigrants or children of immigrants.

Some of the notable names in this list includes Apple’s founder Late Steve Jobs who was the child of Syrian immigrants, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, Iranian parents, and Oracle's Bob Miner, Iranian parents. Sundar Pichai, Google CEO is also an Indian American and hence an immigrant. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has also been spotted at San Francisco International Airport with crowds of protesters, as he himself is an immigrant from Russia.

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

Joining 134 million people from the restricted countries like Syria, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, the tech leaders are also resisting the ban and are promising money, job and support for the immigrants.

Starting with the Google, who had informed all its employees to cancel the travel plans as soon as the announcement was made. "Please do not travel outside of the U.S. until the ban is lifted. While the entry restriction is currently only in place for 90 days, it could be extended with little or no warning," Google said in a memo.

Moreover, Google's employees across all of its US campuses have been rallying against the executive order since Monday. The company has also committed up to $4 million to help those affected by Trump’s immigration order.

More Googlers here than people at the Trump inaguration #GooglersUnite pic.twitter.com/weuWlkKraz

— Rogelio Gudino (@cananito) January 30, 2017

Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in an email to his staff, “Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do.” Quoting Dr Martin Luther King, he further wrote, ‘We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.’

Microsoft, on the other hand is providing legal advice and assistance to its employees from the banned countries. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who is an Indian-American, wrote in a statement on LinkedIn, “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.”

Other companies like Uber has promised to create a $3 million defence fund for its immigrant drivers. Airbnb is offering free housing to any immigrant affected by the ban. LinkedIn announced it would launch its job service for refugees in the US. Viber too, is offering free calls to people affected by the ban. Lyft announced to donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union. Starbucks has also pledged to hire 10,000 refugees worldwide over the next five years.

We just hope all their efforts succeed in making it better for affected people.