US tech giants: Stop border separation of families

Joining the growing chorus against the Donald Trump administration's policy of enforcing separation of children from parents at the US-Mexico border, CEOs of prominent tech giants in the US have called for a change.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai urged the government to find a "more humane" solution.

"The stories and images of families being separated at the border are gut-wrenching. Urging our government to work together to find a better, more humane way that is reflective of our values as a nation," Pichai tweeted on Tuesday.

Pichai is not alone in coming out openly against the border separation of families.

In a letter to all the employees on Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella termed the new policy implemented on the border as "simply cruel and abusive", adding that Microsoft was "standing for change".

"Like many of you, I am appalled at the abhorrent policy of separating immigrant children from their families at the southern border of the US. As both a parent and an immigrant, this issue touches me personally," Nadella wrote.

"I consider myself a product of two amazing and uniquely American things -- American technology reaching me where I was growing up that allowed me to dream the dream and an enlightened immigration policy that then allowed me to live that dream. My story would not have been possible anywhere else," he said.

Microsoft is not working with the US government on any projects related to separating children from their families at the border, he said.

Microsoft faced criticism over its contract with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) -- the agency that is behind the forced separation of children from parents at the US-Mexico border.

"Our current cloud engagement with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is supporting legacy mail, calendar, messaging and document management workloads," Nadella stressed.

According to a report in The Irish Times on Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the separations were "inhumane and need to stop".

"It's heartbreaking to see the images and hear the sounds of the kids. Kids are the most vulnerable people in any society. I think that what's happening is inhumane. It needs to stop," Cook was quoted as saying.

In a Facebook post, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said "we need to stop this policy right now", The Verge reported on Tuesday.

--IANS

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