Some of the largest tech companies in the US, including Apple, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft, speak out against Trump’s suspension of visas for guest workers. In an amicus letter submitted Monday, the companies claim that the new restrictions could dramatically affect how the country’s economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
“The president’s suspension of non-immigrant visa programs, which often ‘protect’ American workers, is actually hurting those workers, their employers, and the economy,” the amicus read.
In June, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation blocking the entry of guest workers into the U.S. in response to the unusual unemployment levels caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Immigration officials were instructed to refuse entry stamps to individuals with a range of visas for guest workers, including H-1Bs, a type of visa that many foreign child workers work in the U.S. In July, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of trade groups condemned the Trump administration over its ban on guest workers, and nearly 50 companies, organizations and trade associations submitted an amicus letter Monday in support of the suit.
In short, companies such as Facebook, Netflix, Adobe, Reddit, GitHub, Paypal and Amazon claim that the “undisputed suspension of these crucial programs for non-immigrant visas does not increase the interests of the United States.” Specifically, the companies claimed that Trump’s proclamation “will strive for innovation, hinder growth and ultimately harm American workers, businesses and the economy more widely in irreparable ways.”
“Poor legal immigration attacks will cause serious long-term damage to our economic stability, recovery and growth, especially as the U.S. economy seeks to rebuild from the devastation of the COVID-19 crisis,” said Todd Schulte, chairman of FWD. us, an amicus signatory, said in a statement Monday. “The future of our nation’s economic security and growth stems from the contributions of hardworking immigrants – not from the scapegoating of the entire population that has been a cornerstone of our country’s economic engine for centuries.”
Shortly after Trump signed the statement in June, tech companies such as Apple and Google came out in opposition to the move.
“Immigrants have not only stimulated technological breakthroughs and created new businesses and jobs, but have also enriched American life,” Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said in June. “America’s continued success depends on companies having access to the best talent from around the world. Especially now, we need that talent to contribute to America’s economic recovery. ”
Apple CEO Tim Cook said he was “deeply disappointed” by the guest worker’s ban. “Like Apple, this nation of immigrants has always found strength in our diversity, hoping for the lasting promise of the American Dream,” Cook tweeted in June.
