Google is forming its largest ever crisis fund to deal with the ongoing impact of Friday’s immigration order that restricts entrance into the United States. In a memo (obtained by USA Today), CEO Sundar Pichai detailed the company’s $2 million donation to four organizations, as well as an employee matching program.
Crisis funds in response to events like natural disasters are common practice throughout the tech industry. Specifically, Google is directly donating $2 million to the American Civil Liberties Union, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, International Rescue Committee, and the United Nation’s refugee agency (UNHCR). The ACLU reports that public donations over the weekend already total over $24M.
An employee matching program of equal amount raises the total possible contribution to $4 million, with that amounting to the company’s largest crisis campaign. USA Today also reports that several executives, like VR head Clay Bavor, are separately donating. Uber and Lyft have also announced similar funding.
President Trump’s executive order halting entry of citizens from seven countries adversely affects tech companies. Google advised staff on Friday to immediately return to the United States, with just under 200 employees impacted. Several court rulings have since clarified the extent of the order, while temporarily halting other parts.
Meanwhile, Buzzfeed reports that Googlers are responding in solidarity with their affected co-workers:
The source said that employees have emailed managers, suggesting that “if their colleagues affected by the order cannot travel for conferences or work events then they will refuse to travel in solidarity. “A lot of people are talking this weekend. Emails were flying around Friday,” the source said.
Over the weekend, mass rallies continued to form around the nation. Google co-founder Sergey Brin took part in one protest on Saturday evening at San Francisco International Airport.
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