Silicon Valley Shows How Much It Hates Trump's Travel Ban

Apple, Facebook, Google among the heavyweights to file legal challenge
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 6, 2017 6:37 AM CST
98 Tech Companies Call Trump Ban Unlawful
Members of Islamic Foundation listen to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin speak at the foundation in Villa Park, Ill. Sunday.   (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley have lined up against President Trump's travel ban. Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and 94 other tech companies have filed a legal brief with a federal appeals court opposing the ban, reports the Washington Post. The president's executive order banning travelers from seven countries "represents a significant departure from the principles of fairness and predictability that have governed the immigration system," says the amicus brief filed with the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. It also hurts business by making it difficult and expensive to recruit and hire employees, says the brief. Meanwhile, two former secretaries of state—John Kerry and Madeline Albright—also registered their opposition with the court, joined by other former Democratic officials, reports the New York Times.

"The order will likely feed the recruitment narrative of (ISIS) and other extremists that portray the United States as at war with Islam," says the legal brief. The states of Washington and Minnesota, which are challenging the ban, also filed a brief Monday arguing that putting it back in place would "unleash chaos again," reports the AP. The appeals court, which rejected a White House bid for an immediate reinstatement over the weekend, has given the Justice Department until 6pm Monday to respond. After that, it will rule on whether the ban should remain on hold. Either way, the case is expected to wind up in the Supreme Court. Trump, meanwhile, kept up his criticism of the Seattle judge who ruled against the ban with more tweets on Sunday. (More President Trump stories.)

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