Tech Companies Consider Joint Letter to Trump Opposing Travel Ban

By Greg Bensinger and Laura Stevens 

A group of companies including some of the biggest names in the technology industry are considering a joint letter to President Donald Trump opposing his recent immigration order and offering to work with the White House to develop different policies, people familiar with the matter said.

Tech companies that have reviewed a draft letter and could participate include Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc., eBay Inc., and Uber Technologies Inc., the people said. One of the people said a number of non-tech companies are involved in the effort as well.

The draft of the letter circulating among companies expresses concern over Mr. Trump's executive order--which bars entry to the U.S. by people from seven majority-Muslim nations out of concerns about the risk of terrorism--saying it could affect "many visa holders who work hard here in the U.S. and contribute to our country's success."

"We stand ready to help your administration identify other opportunities to ensure that our employees can travel with predictability and without undue delay," reads the draft, a copy of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Discussions of the draft letter are still preliminary, and decisions on who might sign it, what exactly it would say, and whether it ultimately is sent haven't been completed, the people said.

The planned letter opposing the order was reported earlier Wednesday by Recode and Bloomberg.

The businesses' draft letter, which is addressed directly to Mr. Trump, states the companies are willing to help the administration create screening procedures for refugees beyond a blanket ban and to help clarify the status of about 750,000 undocumented immigrants admitted to the U.S. under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

"We hope that you will use us as a resource to help achieve immigration policies that both support the work of American businesses and reflect American values," the letter states.

Tech leaders were among the earliest critics of Mr. Trump's immigration order, which was signed Friday, but executives from a growing swath of U.S. companies also have warned that it could negatively affect some of their employees and contradicts their principles. The ban applies to citizens of Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Syria for 90 days.

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an interview Wednesday that his company is weighing legal action and continuing to press the Trump administration to reverse the executive order on immigration. Amazon on Monday said it submitted a declaration of support for a suit filed by the Washington state attorney general against the order.

A draft of a separate executive order under consideration by the White House would take on a different area of immigration policy that affects businesses more directly: the visa programs for skilled workers favored by technology and other companies.

--Jack Nicas and Jay Greene contributed to this article.

Write to Greg Bensinger at [e-mail] and Laura Stevens at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 02, 2017 03:38 ET (08:38 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.