The heads of several major tech companies — including Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Apple — voiced their opposition to the policy of separating children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The tech leaders’ remarks spanned from calling for donations to civil rights-related groups to urging people to protest. Some even lambasted the policy as “heartbreaking” and “inhumane.”
In a post on Facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg encouraged individuals to donate to the Texas Civil Rights Project and RAICES, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. He said the two groups are “doing great work helping families at the US border get legal advice and translation services, as well as documenting what is happening on the ground to make sure these stories are shared.” So far, through his post, Zuckerberg has raised more than $55,668 for the Texas Civil Rights Project.
In addition to advocating for people to support two particular charities, Zuckerberg also wrote, “We need to stop this policy right now.”
On Twitter, CEO Jack Dorsey shared multiple tweets related to family separation on the border. Like Zuckerberg, Dorsey wrote about his donation to RAICES after asking the Twitter public, “Do everything it takes to #KeepFamilesTogether. What are the highest impact ways to help?”
Dorsey also shared an article from Soros-funded ProPublica about border separations, tweeted the hashtag “#KeepFamiliesTogether,” and retweeted a post by the Washington director of MoveOn.org about finding local protests and calling Congress.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai also used the “#keepfamiliestogether” hashtag on Twitter to say, “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. #keepfamiliestogether.”
Over at YouTube, which is owned by Google, CEO Susan Wojcicki called the border separation policy “heartbreaking” and provided a Mashable link with a list of activists groups to help.
The Irish Times reported that, from Dublin, Apple CEO Tim Cook also weighed in.
He told the Irish Times, “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.”
The CEOs of Uber and AirBnB also criticized the policy. Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman called for people to join him at a protest on June 30. Lyft co-founder John Zimmer unveiled his “Lyft Relief Rides” plan for organizations at the border.
