Tech vs. Trump: Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter file joint legal brief arguing against the president's travel ban
- Ninety-seven companies have joined a legal brief arguing against the president's travel ban
- Among the companies included in the amicus brief are Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Netflix, Uber, Reddit and many others
- The brief says that the ban 'inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation and growth'
- The president's ban bars people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
- Ban has hit Silicon Valley hard, since many tech companies employ immigrants
- Over the weekend, a federal judge temporarily halted the order
- The president's lawyers appealed - but were denied an opportunity to immediately reinstate the order
Dozens of top tech companies - including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter - have filed a joint legal brief arguing against President Donald Trump's travel ban.
The brief was filed late Sunday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in support of an ongoing lawsuit against the ban.
It charged that the ban 'inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth as a result,' according to a copy of the document published by media outlets.
'Immigrants or their children founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list.'
US President Trump's immigration ban has sparked mass protests, such as this rally at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on January 28, 2017
'Immigrants make many of the Nation’s greatest discoveries, and create some of the country’s most innovative and iconic companies,' the brief states. 'America has long recognized the importance of protecting ourselves against those who would do us harm. But it has done so while maintaining our fundamental commitment to welcoming immigrants - through increased background checks and other controls on people seeking to enter our country.'
The brief added: 'The tremendous impact of immigrants on America - and on American business - is not happenstance. People who choose to leave everything that is familiar and journey to an unknown land to make a new life necessarily are endowed with drive, creativity, determination - and just plain guts. The energy they bring to America, is a key reason why the American economy has been the greatest engine of prosperity and innovation in history.'
Executives from several top Silicon Valley companies had previously spoken out against the ban, which temporarily barred all refugees and travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States.
On Friday, following a lawsuit filed by the state of Washington challenging the ban, a federal judge in Seattle temporarily suspended Trump's order pending a wider legal review - freeing refugees and visa holders form those seven countries to re-enter the country again.
The Trump administration appealed over the weekend to the Ninth Circuit court, where a flurry of legal filings were flooding in early Monday. The appeals court declined to immediately reinstate the order. But the court said it would reconsider the government's request after receiving more information.
Bloomberg reported that the companies planned the file the amicus brief later this week, but sped up the process amid the other legal challenges to the order.
The travel ban would have a large impact on Silicon Valley firms which employ thousands of immigrants.
The 97 signatories to the brief argued that Trump's ban harms recruiting and retention of talent, threatens business operations, and hampers the firms' ability to attract investment to the United States.
Other tech companies that are part of the coalition include AirBnb, Dropbox, eBay, Intel, Kickstarter, LinkedIn, Lyft, Mozilla, Netflix, PayPal, Uber and Yelp.
The list also includes non-tech companies such as Chobani and Levi Strauss & Co.
Uber's inclusion on the list is interesting because it's chief executive, Travis Kalanick, previously agreed to sit on the president's business advisory council.
Kalanick stepped down from that role last week, after people started boycotting the service. He later issued a statement saying he was never in favor of the ban.
Several of these large tech companies are also planning to sending an open letter to the president, Bloomberg previously reported. Microsoft and Alphabet Inc. were two of the companies who planned to express their concerns in the letter.
'We share your goal of ensuring that our immigration system meets today’s security needs and keeps our country safe,' a draft of the letter obtained by Bloomberg reads. 'We are concerned, however, that your recent Executive Order will affect many visa holders who work hard here in the United States and contribute to our country’s success.'
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