Microsoft employees write open letter demanding cancellation of ICE contracts

Microsoft in a statement on 18 June, said that they were “dismayed by the forcible separation of children from their families at the border.” The company also denied working on any project with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) , the agency causing the separation. [caption id=“attachment_4549871” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Manhattan, New York. Reuters[/caption] However, according to a report by The New York Times, more than 100 people of the company’s staff have signed an open letter to CEO Satya Nadella , requesting the company to stop working with ICE. Caroline O’Donovan, a BuzzFeed reporter, tweeted an image of the letter, demanding the company to “cancel its contracts” with ICE, as well as those with clients who support the law enforcement agency’s work. Click here to download the full letter.

Further, the letter read that, “We believe that Microsoft must take an ethical stand, and put children and families above profits.” According to the letter, ICE has a $19.4 million contract with Microsoft to use its cloud computing service Azure, for data processing and machine learning. However, the company already reiterated it was not working with ICE, but letter speaks differently. The employees want all the deals canceled, because, nearly 2,000 children have been separated from their parents, according to the Department of Homeland Security. On 19 June, Apple CEO Tim Cook too criticized the Trump administration for separating families, and called the action ‘inhumane and ‘heartbreaking.’