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Zuckerberg, Cook join chorus of tech protest on border separations

Mark Zuckerberg in a suit walking outdoors
Photo: Aurelien Morissard/IP3/Getty Images

The CEOs of Facebook, Apple and Google added their voices Tuesday to the tech industry's growing roster of opposition to the Trump administration's border policy, which is separating children from parents accused of immigrating illegally.

Why it matters: Many tech companies embrace the idea that they're forces for good. As political controversies in the U.S. deepen, their users and employees increasingly expect them to take stands.

What they're saying:

  • "We need to stop this policy right now," Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post that urged his friends to contribute to projects offering help to immigrant families at the border.
  • "I think that what’s happening is inhumane, it needs to stop,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told The Irish Times on Tuesday.
  • "The stories and images of families being separated at the border are gut-wrenching," Google CEO Sundar Pichai tweeted. "Urging our government to work together to find a better, more humane way that is reflective of our values as a nation."
  • Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted, "Do everything it takes to #KeepFamilesTogether."
  • YouTube's CEO, Susan Wojcicki, tweeted, "Regardless of your politics, it's heartbreaking to see what's happening to families at the border."
  • Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi: "As a father, a citizen and an immigrant myself, the stories coming from our border break my heart. Families are the backbone of society. A policy that pulls them apart rather than building them up is immoral and just plain wrong."
  • Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman tweeted that he will march on June 30 and encouraged others to do the same, offering up Slate's list of places to donate.
  • Lyft CEO John Zimmer said the service will offer free rides to a dozen organizations working on the ground on the issue.
  • Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins tweeted that we "must end cruel policy of separating accompanied minors from their parents – simply un-American."
  • SurveyMonkey CEO Zander Lurie: "Separating families is heartbreaking and inhumane. It's shocking to see the U.S. Gov't enabling or allowing this practice."
  • Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said in a statement to Axios that ”separation of families is never the solution, we need real immigration reform.”

Go deeper: Axios' Ina Fried has full coverage of this issue.

Immigration