President Donald Trump's immigration ban fueled a public outcry and outrage worldwide and Google employees walked out of their offices to protest the controversial executive order.
More than 2,000 Googlers from all over the world rallied against the immigration ban at Google campuses nationwide and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, co-founder Sergey Brin, and other company leaders joined the crowd at Google's Mountain View headquarters.
Trump Immigration Ban
If Silicon Valley was initially reserved, yet optimistic when Trump won the race to the White House, it all took a turn for the worse when the president signed the executive order banning people from seven countries from entering the United States.
Visa holders, green card holders and people with dual citizenship were detained at airports unable to fly back to the United States although all their paperwork was in order. The immigration ban affected roughly 200 Google employees.
Google recalled all staff last week, urging them to return to the United States immediately, but it remains unclear whether they all made it back.
Like many other companies, Google has plenty of immigrants and even its leaders - Sundar Pichai and Sergey Brin - are immigrants, so this immigration ban hit a soft spot.
Both Pichai and Brin addressed the crowds of employees protesting on Monday, Jan. 30, joining the rally and encouraging people to keep fighting for what's right. Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google's parent company, Alphabet, had already told employees a few days ago that he believes the Trump Administration will do more "evil things" like they've already done in the immigration area.
Pichai encouraged employees to share their immigration stories and said the fight will go on, suggesting that Google will continue making efforts to counter the immigration ban. Brin talked about his experience as an immigrant, coming to the United States as a child from the Soviet Union, which was the United States' greatest enemy at that point.
The United States took 6-year-old Brin and his family and welcomed them as refugees back then, but now it's building walls and shunning people instead of helping them.
#GooglersUnite
Google employees rallying against the immigration ban carried signs with messages of tolerance and inclusion such as "No ban, no wall," "All are welcome," and "We are a nation of immigrants." Protesters took to Twitter to share images from the rally under the hashtag #GooglersUnite.
A Twitter account with the same name has also been created, sharing similar messages of inclusion, love and tolerance to counter bigotry, racism and discrimination.
Google is not the only company to take a stance against Trump's executive order. Several other companies have reacted to the immigration ban and their leaders have spoken out, all sending the same overall message.
America would not be what it is without immigrants and closing up the borders is not a desirable solution. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed concern regarding the executive order and urged the president to focus on real threats instead of extreme vetting. Apple CEO Tim Cook also spoke out, point out that Apple would not exist without immigrants.
Other technology companies joined the fray and denounced the immigration ban. Major U.S. companies pledged to help - Airbnb offered accommodation for travelers stranded because of the executive order, while Starbucks pledged to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years and take other measures as well. ACLU raised unprecedented funds after suing the White House over the executive order. The immigration ban has also fueled protests around the world, including the UK where a petition to cancel a Trump state visit gained numerous supporters.
