More than eight hundred technology professionals across the United States have united to sign a significant petition, calling upon chief executives within their industry to demand the immediate withdrawal of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from American urban centres. The petition also urges the cancellation of all corporate contracts with the federal agency, marking a notable escalation in tech sector political engagement.
Growing Pressure on Industry Leaders
The organised appeal references a previous instance in October where technology executives successfully persuaded the Trump administration to abandon a planned ICE operation surge in San Francisco. "We know our industry leaders have leverage," the petition explicitly states, "Now they need to go further, and join us in demanding ICE out of all of our cities." This historical precedent is being used as a foundation for the current demands, highlighting the perceived influence that major tech corporations wield over federal policy decisions.
High-Profile Signatories and Corporate Responses
Signatories to the petition include approximately one hundred employees from Google, alongside dozens from Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI. Notably, an unnamed executive vice president from Tesla, the company led by Elon Musk, has also added their name to the list. The petition emerges in direct response to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a thirty-seven-year-old nurse, by ICE agents during protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the thirteenth of January.
This incident has provoked a broad and diverse backlash, drawing criticism from Reddit communities, registered nurses' unions, various faith leaders, and even the traditionally right-leaning National Rifle Association. Despite this widespread condemnation, several prominent tech CEOs have remained conspicuously silent on the specific matter of Pretti's death.
CEO Influence and Political Silence
Figures such as Sam Altman of OpenAI, Jensen Huang of Nvidia, and Tim Cook of Apple have not publicly commented on the killing via social media or official statements. Interestingly, Tim Cook was among a group of technology chief executives invited to a private White House screening of the documentary Melania on Saturday, alongside Eric Yuan, the CEO of Zoom.
However, some industry voices have begun to speak out. Dario Amodei, the chief executive of Anthropic, posted on X about the critical importance of "preserving democratic values and rights at home." Similarly, James Dyett, OpenAI's head of global business, wrote on the platform, "There is far more outrage from tech leaders over a wealth tax than masked ICE agents terrorizing communities and executing civilians in the streets. Tells you what you need to know about the values of our industry."
A Shift in Tech Worker Activism
The petition organisers argue that a significant shift is occurring in the political engagement of technology sector employees, who were largely quiet during the initial year of the Trump administration. One Google DeepMind researcher warned in the petition, "It'll be pretty hard to do good research in a 'masked men execute civilians on the street' political environment. That possibility grows & you should plan for it." This statement underscores growing concerns about the broader societal and operational impacts of federal immigration enforcement tactics.
Whether technology chief executives will leverage their influence to meet the petitioners' demands remains an open and pressing question. The situation continues to develop as pressure mounts on industry leaders to take a definitive stand on the deployment of ICE agents in American cities and the associated corporate contracting relationships.
