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Employees at Salesforce are circulating an internal letter to CEO Marc Benioff calling on him to denounce recent actions by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ban the use of Salesforce software by immigration agents, and support federal legislation that would significantly reform the agency.
The letter specifically cites “the recent killings of Rene Judd and Alex Peretti in Minneapolis” as triggers, calling them a “devastating indictment of a system that ignores human dignity.” It is unclear how many signatories the letter has received so far.
The letter, which was not previously reported, is being staged amid Salesforce’s annual leadership kickoff event this week in Las Vegas. During his appearance at the event earlier today, Benioff asked international employees to stand up to thank them for attending, before joking that ICE agents were in the building watching them, according to current and former Salesforce employees who spoke to WIRED.
Benioff’s comments sparked an immediate backlash among employees. “A lot of people are angry,” says one source, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. Business insider and 404 media Benioff’s statements and the reaction they received within Salesforce were previously reported.
“We are deeply disturbed by leaked documents revealing that Salesforce offered AI technology to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help the agency recruit 10,000 new agents and quickly screen tip reports,” the letter read. “Providing the infrastructure for Agentforce to expand a mass deportation agenda that currently detains 66,000 people — 73 percent of whom have no criminal record — represents a fundamental betrayal of our commitment to the ethical use of technology.”
Benioff’s voice “carries unique weight in Washington,” the letter says, pointing to an incident last fall when Trump canceled an ICE deployment in San Francisco after what appeared to be outreach from Bay Area tech leaders, including Benioff and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. She urges Benioff to use that influence as a “corporate statesman” to issue a public statement condemning what she calls ICE’s unconstitutional behavior and force Salesforce to erase “red lines” prohibiting the use of its cloud and AI products in state violence.
Salesforce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.