The President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration order has already hit the technology industries in the US. The newly elected President banned people from seven Muslim-majority countries – Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia entering the US.
Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai (born in India) has raised the concern and issued a memo for the employees to fly back to the US ASAP or risk not being able to get into the country at all. This order will create a wall to bringing or hiring talent overseas under a working visa and it will hit at least 187 Google employees to leave.
Trump’s executive order bans almost all citizens from Muslim countries from entering the US for 90 days. New York Daily News reported that green card and valid visa holders were already blocked from boarding flights to the US as soon as a few hours after the order was signed. “No one is really sure whether a green card holder from these seven countries can return to the US now,” immigration lawyer Ava Benach told Bloomberg. “It’s fairly clear that an H-1B visa holder can’t.”
“We are upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.,” Mr. Pichai stated.
Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also criticized Trump’s decision to severely limit immigrants and refugees from certain Muslim-majority countries, saying America “is a nation of immigrants and should be proud of it”.
Microsoft Corp. inserted language in a securities filing on Thursday on the issue, cautioning investors that immigration restrictions “may inhibit our ability to adequately staff our research and development efforts.”
Source : engadget ©Image : engadget
