More than 900 Google employees have publicly demanded that their employer completely terminate any ties with American immigration enforcement authorities. This is reportedly the latest manifestation of disagreement between technology staff and management on government contracts.
These employees signed an open letter denouncing Google’s involvement in the surveillance and enforcement measures pursued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The employees mention specific cases of deaths related to ICE enforcement measures, such as the deaths of Keith Porter, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti, stating that these employees were “appalled by this violence” and “horrified” by Google’s involvement.
“Google is powering this campaign of surveillance, violence, and repression,” the letter reads, pulling no punches in its assessment of the tech giant’s relationship with federal immigration authorities.
Google Employees Demand Divestment from DHS, CBP, and ICE Over Surveillance Concerns
The employees identified a variety of ways in which Google technology is utilized in immigration enforcement. The letter states that Google Cloud was used as a foundation for CBP surveillance, as well as a means of powering an ImmigrationOS system run by Palantir, which is utilized by ICE.
The Google technology identified was a generative artificial intelligence utilized by CBP, although Google has taken action by removing apps that track ICE activity from the Google Play store.
The letter points out what employees perceive as an inconsistency between business practices and company values. The employees quoted Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean, who posted on social media in early January and stated: “We are vehemently opposed to Google’s partnerships with DHS, CBP, and ICE,” the employees stated. “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 Internal Battle Over Google’s Ties to ICE and DHS
The letter has several specific demands. The demands include the workers wanting Google to “acknowledge the possible threats that exist for workers due to ICE operations,” an emergency internal company question-and-answer meeting about Google’s Department of Homeland Security and military contracts, as well as worker safety measures, which include flexible work-from-home options and immigration support services.
Perhaps most significantly, the workers are seeking full transparency about Google’s government contracts. They want Google, on one hand, to open up about its full relationship with immigration enforcement, something that, on the other hand, everyone involved needs to know in terms of articulating where ethics ought to be.
“As workers of conscience, we demand that our leadership end our backslide into contracting for governments enacting violence against civilians,” the letter states. “Google is now a prominent node in a shameful lineage of private companies profiting from violent state repression. We must use this moment to come together as a Googler community and demand an end to this disgraceful use of our labor.”
Google Employees Join Industry-Wide Protest Against ICE Contracts
Google did not immediately return a request for comment by CNBC on the letter or the demands of the employees.
This isn’t an isolated incident in the tech world. The Google letter comes only two weeks after employees from several major tech companies issued a similar call to action.
Workers from Amazon, Spotify, Meta, and more wrote their own open letter demanding that ICE enforcement actions stop in their communities, amidst growing concern by the workforce in tech about how their work enables government surveillance and enforcement operations.
This growing political pressure on the tech executives is part of a persistent tug of war in Silicon Valley between business interests and employee activism. Technology workers have been organising over issues they see as moral causes, including military contracts, climate change, and civil liberties. Those movements have sometimes resulted in changed corporate policy but at other times have sparked internal conflict and the departure of employees.
The letter from Google employees may be said to be one of the most direct challenges to the technology industry’s current partnership with immigration enforcement agencies, especially following the growth and development it has taken in recent times. Whether or not Google’s management yields to these demands, it is important to note that it did not go unnoticed because it was made public.
For its part, what about the 900-plus signatories? Their position on it is very clear: they do not wish their efforts to be used for something they perceive as harmful and are willing to speak out publicly to demand change.
