Google joins Apple, Facebook and more tech companies in amicus brief opposing Trump’s immigration order

Google, Apple and 95 other Silicon Valley technology firms, filed an amicus brief over the weekend to oppose the immigration order introduced by Donald Trump (via Bloomberg). The filing contributes to the lawsuit being held in Washington and Minnesota.

In the brief, the companies say an open-ended ban does not aid America’s national security and instead undermines its interests. It notes that 40% of the companies in the Fortune 500 were founded by immigrants, or their children.

The brief signatories include Alphabet, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, Twitter, Snap, and Uber. Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, is backing the original lawsuit in Washington, so is not part of the amicus brief.

The brief notes the need to protect national security is not justified by a blanket ban on immigration from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

“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.”

As it stands, the order remains halted after a US district judge temporarily stayed the ban. An appeals court ruling in opposition means that the executive order has not been reinstated. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has previously criticized the order which forced the company to recall 100 employees back into the US. When the ban initially came into effect, Pichai said ‘it’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues’.