Trump’s Immigration Executive Order ‘Raises Constitutional Issues,’ Says Shapiro
President Donald Trump’s immigration executive order Friday blocking citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days awakened an outcry in the tech industry over the weekend. The order "hurts our nation -- both morally and economically -- and runs counter to our country's long-standing values,” CTA President Gary Shapiro said in a Sunday statement. CTA understands the president’s “superseding role” in protecting the U.S. from terrorism, Shapiro said. But "blocking access en masse of employees of U.S. companies who are lawful visa and green card holders based on religion or national origin raises constitutional issues.”
Trump’s order “preventing the best and brightest from entering our country undercuts one of America's competitive advantages,” said Shapiro. “Immigrants are vital to our nation's economic vitality,” he said, citing estimates that 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies “were founded by immigrants or their children.” Though the tech industry will work with the Trump “administration to enhance our national security, we must do so in a way that does not undercut our unique economic dynamism and global moral leadership," he said. Shapiro emailed us Sunday to decline further comment, saying he would let the statement speak for itself.
A day earlier, the Information Technology Industry Council called on the Trump administration to “provide more clarity" to the order, including "defining the process for allowing vetted employees back into the country.” The order “injected a tremendous amount of uncertainly for a wide range of people, including employees within the tech sector,” said President Dean Garfield in a Saturday statement. His group is “troubled by reports” that even green card holders from the seven banned countries “are now unable to return from abroad and many more of our employees, who have been previously vetted and who love and contribute greatly to our nation, could be barred from returning to the U.S. simply because they visited their families abroad, even in cases of emergencies,” Garfield said.
Internet Association President Michael Beckerman in a Saturday statement said Trump’s order “has troubling consequences." Under the order, "legal immigrant employees” in many industries “will not be able to return back to their jobs and families in the U.S.,” said Beckerman. “Their work benefits our economy and creates jobs here in the United States. We maintain our support for immigration reform and will work with Congress and the Trump Administration on this important issue for families and our economy.
As an “immigrant and as a CEO,” Satya Nadella has “experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world,” the Microsoft chief said in a Saturday LinkedIn post. “We will continue to advocate on this important topic.” His post accompanied an email that Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith sent Saturday to the Microsoft workforce in which he said the company was aware of at least 76 employees who are citizens of the seven banned countries “and have a U.S. visa and are therefore affected by this new Order.”
The White House didn't reply right away to an email and a call seeking comment.