Over 800 Google Workers Urge Company to Cancel Any Contracts With ICE and CBP

"Over 800 employees and contractors working for Google signed a petition this week calling on the company to disclose and cancel any contracts it may have with US immigration authorities. In a statement, the workers said they are "vehemently opposed" to Google's dealings with the Department of Homeland Security, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)."

""We consider it our leadership's ethical and policy-bound responsibility to disclose all contracts and collaboration with CBP and ICE, and to divest from these partnerships," the petition published on Friday states. Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. US immigration authorities have been under intense public scrutiny this year as the Trump administration ramped up its mass deportation campaign, sparking nationwide protests."

"In Minneapolis, confrontations between protesters and federal agents culminated in the fatal shooting of two US citizens by immigration officers. Both incidents were captured in widely disseminated videos and became a focal point of the backlash. In the wake of the uproar, the Trump administration and Congress say they are negotiating changes to ICE's tactics. Some of the Department of Homeland Security's most lucrative contracts are for software and tech gear from a variety of different vendors."

More than 800 Google employees and contractors have petitioned the company to disclose and cancel any contracts with US immigration authorities, expressing strong opposition to ties with the Department of Homeland Security, including ICE and CBP. Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The push comes amid heightened scrutiny of immigration enforcement after an expanded deportation campaign, nationwide protests, and fatal shootings in Minneapolis captured on video. Some DHS contracts fund software and tech gear, and workers at suppliers including Google, Amazon, and Palantir have raised concerns about surveillance and technology being used to enable violence. Earlier employee petitions in 2019 similarly sought suspension of work with CBP.

Read at WIRED