Apple May Take Legal Action Against Trump Travel and Immigration Ban
Apple is considering legal steps against the Trump administration’s travel and immigration ban, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Apple CEO Tim Cook told the paper this week that hundreds of employees of the company have been affected by the executive order, which bans refugees and travelers with passports from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
Cook said that he had received a number of emails from employees directly affected by the order, including an expecting parent whose family won’t be able to visit the baby because of their Iranian passports. Cook went on to say that he has been in contact with senior people at the administration, urging them to repeal the executive order.
Apple’s CEO isn’t alone in opposing the travel ban. Over the weekend, a number of tech executives spoke out in public messages and emails to their workforce. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called the ban “un-American” in a sharply worded Facebook post, and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called it “wrong” and said its impact was “real and upsetting.” Other companies speaking out included Google, Facebook and AirBnB.
In some cases, the protest didn’t just come from the top. At Google, an estimated 2000 employees across multiple offices participated in rallies Monday to protest the ban. During a rally at the company’s headquarter in Mountain View, Calif., Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that there shouldn’t be any compromises on human rights. “We need to stand together,” he said. “The fight will continue.”
Cook didn’t reveal which legal options he is weighing, but Apple wouldn’t be the only tech company to go to court against the executive order. Both Amazon and Microsoft have filed letters in support of a Washington State lawsuit against the ban.
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