14 DAY TRIAL // The tech community is having none of this immigration ban imposed by the Trump administration, and while many have vouched to donate money to push against the order in court, some companies are actually signing on to a lawsuit - Microsoft, Amazon, and Expedia.
The executive order Trump signed last week has caused quite a bit of uproar across the United States and abroad as people from seven nations that are predominantly Muslim have been banned access to the United States.
Tech companies have been some of the major voices against this ban, with people from Google, Facebook, Amazon, Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Salesforce, Etsy, Tesla, Netflix, Microsoft, and several other top firms expressing their disapproval. Many of them have donated money to organizations that seek to make life easier for immigrants and refugees, including the ACLU.
Doing more
Microsoft, Amazon, and Expedia, however, have signed on to a lawsuit filed by Bob Ferguson, Washington Attorney General. The lawsuit is filed against President Trump, as well as the US Department of Homeland Security and several officials from the Trump administration. According to the filing, the executive order signed by the President on immigration is unconstitutional.
“Amazon employs more than 40,000 employees in the State of Washington and more than 180,000 employees in the United States. Our employees come to us from every corner of the United States and every corner of the world,” writes Ayesha Blackwell-Hawkins, Amazon Senior Manager of Mobility and Immigration.
According to the Amazon head, the company has 49 employees born in one of the countries targeted by the executive order, out of which only two hold permanent residence in the United States.
A step back
Microsoft told Mashable that they believe the order to be misguided and a fundamental step backward. “There are more effective ways to protect public safety without creating so much collateral damage to the country’s reputation and values,” they said. The press release regarding the lawsuit states that Attorney General Bob Ferguson believes no one is above the law, not even the President. “And in the courtroom, it is not the loudest voice that prevails. It’s the Constitution,” Ferguson said in what’s to be the first suit of its kind in the nation.