Tipsheet

Over 800 Google Workers Demand the Company Cut Ties With ICE

Over 800 Google employees are demanding that the company end its contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The workers signed a petition arguing that the company’s tools are fueling a violent crackdown on illegal immigrants, Business Insider reported.

The petition was organized by the No Tech for Apartheid campaign after the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by ICE and Border Patrol agents.

In the petition, Google’s employees ask the company to “disclose all contracts and collaboration with CBP and ICE” and divest from those partnerships. They argue it is an ethical obligation for the company’s leadership to stop assisting agencies that have been accused of abusing illegal immigrants and U.S. citizens.

The employees demand a clear accounting of how DHS uses Google’s products and “red lines” that limit how federal immigration agencies can use the tools.

A Google spokesperson told Business Insider that DHS is using “basic cloud infrastructure services” that are available to anyone. However, the employees contend that even generic services can enable surveillance and raids.

Workers at other tech companies have made similar demands. NPR reported that employees at companies like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Salesforce, Meta, TikTok, and others have signed open letters asking their leadership to cut ties with ICE and CBP. 

One open letter posted on X says, “When Trump threatened to send the national guard to San Francisco in October, tech industry leaders called the White HOuse.” They noted that Trump relented after hearing from these individuals.

The demanded that tech leaders call the White House and “demand that ICE leave our cities,” “cancel all company contracts with ICE,” and “speak out publicly against ICE’s violence.”

If you agree, sign below, and spread the word: ICEout.tech

Google’s leaders have not yet indicated whether they will reevaluate their relationships with ICE and CBP. But if the tools these agencies are using are publicly available, it's not clear how Google would make sure that only those who are not working with these agencies are not using their platforms.