Big Tech Firms Face Growing Backlash Over Ties to US Immigration Agency

Protesters gathered outside San Francisco's Moscone Center on September 15 during Salesforce's annual tech event to demand an end to any contracts between the company and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE is a federal law enforcement agency set up after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 to protect the United States from cross-border crime and illegal immigration. The agency gained billions of dollars in funding and increased its presence during President Donald Trump's second term, which led to a rise in arrests and violent incidents. In January, federal immigration officers killed 37-year-old writer Renée Good in Minneapolis. Days later, a Customs and Border Protection official killed 37-year-les nurse Alex Pretti during an ICE operation. The deaths of two American citizens triggered widespread protests and bipartisan outrage, compounded by reports of detained foreigners dying in custody. Government reports showed that over 6,200 children were detained by ICE during Mr. Trump's second term. Big Tech companies partner with federal agencies for regular revenue and reputation boosts. These partnerships range from recruitment advertisements to direct tech support. However, tech firms are split in their support. Palantir, a defence-focused data analytics firm, has maintained a government contract since 2011 across four administrations. Palantir stated that its software helps ICE track immigration lifecycles and improve data workflows. Salesforce takes a cautious approach, with its service used by all 50 states and 15 cabinet agencies. Employee concern at Salesforce began in 2018. In February, more than 1,400 employees wrote a letter to CEO Marc Benioff asking him to stop pitching AI contracts to ICE and to push back against agent presence. The letter noted that pitches aimed to help ICE hire 10,000 new agents and vet tip lines. Robin Washington, Salesforce's President and Chief Operating and Financial Officer, told The Hindu that the company values equality and trust, and aims to create a safe environment for diverse viewpoints. Immigrant advocacy platforms have also called for boycotts against Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Google, LinkedIn, Meta, Spotify, YouTube, AT&T, Comcast, Dell, Clearview AI, IBM, and X for various links to ICE. A senior U.S. official told NBC that ICE agents arrested around 50,000 people in August.