Nearly a thousand Google workers sign letter urging company to divest from ICE, CBP
The Google LLC logo is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York on November 17, 2021.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
more than 900 Google workers signed a contract open letter It condemns recent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), calling on the tech giant to disclose its dealings with the agencies and disassociate from them.
Referring to the recent ICE killings of Keith Porter, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the letter said employees were “horrified by the violence” and “horrified” by Google’s role in this incident.
“Google supports this campaign of surveillance, violence and oppression,” the letter reads.
Google Cloud is stated to assist and strengthen CBP surveillance. Palantir ImmigrationOS system used by ICE. The letter states that Google’s generative AI is used by CBP and that the Google Play Store blocks ICE tracking apps.
The letter also quotes Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean’s social media post from early January: “We all have a collective responsibility to speak up and not remain silent when we see things like last week’s events.”
“We strongly oppose Google’s partnership with DHS, CBP, and ICE,” the employees wrote. “We feel it is our leadership’s ethical and policy responsibility to disclose and disengage from all contracts and collaborations with CBP and ICE.”
The letter calls on Google to acknowledge the danger workers face from ICE, host an emergency internal Q&A about the company’s DHS and military contracts, implement safety measures like flexible work-from-home policies and immigration support to protect employees, and disclose its ties to government agencies to help all involved determine where the company draws the line.
“As workers of conscience, we demand that our leadership end our decline in contracting with governments that use violence against civilians,” the letter reads. “Google is now one of the leading nodes in a shameful lineage of private companies profiting from violent government oppression. We must use this moment to come together as a community of Googlers and demand an end to this shameful exploitation of our labor.”
Google did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The letter comes at a time when employees are putting increasing pressure on tech CEOs to speak out against ICE. Just two weeks ago, employees representing Amazon, Spotify, Meta and more wrote: similar letter We demand that ICE “get out of our cities.”
