Tech insiders are calling on CEOs to speak out against ICE after Alex Pretti’s murder

More than 450 tech workers from companies like Google, Meta, OpenAI, Amazon and Salesforce have signed an agreement letter Urge their executives to contact the White House and ask US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to leave US cities.

“For months, Trump has sent federal agents into our cities to criminalize us, our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues, and our family members,” the open letter from IceOut.Tech said. “From Minneapolis to Los Angeles to Chicago, we have seen armed and masked thugs commit reckless acts of violence, kidnapping, terror and cruelty with no end in sight.”

Minneapolis became the focal point of a large-scale federal immigration operation, employing tactics so intense that many described them as… As a military occupation. The operation featured confrontations between federal agents and community members protesting the raids, with law enforcement deploying indiscriminate crowd control tactics, including pepper spray, tear gas, rubber bullets and sound cannons.

The message from those in the tech industry continues: “This cannot continue, and we know the tech industry can make a difference.” “When Trump He threatened to send the National Guard To San Francisco in October, technology industry leaders called the White House. I worked: Trump backed down“.

The campaign began among tech workers after that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot and killed US citizen Rene Judd In Minneapolis three weeks ago, and the situation increased over the weekend after Border Patrol agents He shot and killed Alex Prettya 37-year-old ICU nurse at a Minneapolis VA hospital.

The letter’s organizers did not reveal their names, and many of the letter’s signatories did so anonymously for fear of retaliation. TechCrunch has reached out for more information.

A number of tech leaders have already spoken out against the federal actions in Minneapolis. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman The way ICE operates is ‘terrible for people,’ says Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla Called current implementation “Macho ICE guards running amok supported by unconscious management.” Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean called on “everyone, regardless of their political affiliation.” Condemn the escalation of violence. James Dyett, head of global business at OpenAI, criticized the industry’s silence, saying: Posting on X That “there is far more anger from tech leaders over the wealth tax than there is with masked ICE agents terrorizing communities.”

Signal chief Meredith Whitaker He bemoaned that masked agents “are executing people in the streets and powerful leaders are openly lying to cover them up. To every person in my industry who has ever claimed to value freedom – rely on the courage of your convictions and stand up.”

However, many of the most powerful figures in tech leaders have not only been largely silent about opposing the Trump administration’s directives, but have actively tried to curry favor with the president. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim CookGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg both attended President Trump’s inauguration and donated to the inauguration fund either personally or through their companies. No one has spoken publicly about the intensification of ICE raids.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman and his wife Anna are also notable donors Reasons and candidates associated with President TrumpAnd he refrained from talking. In keeping with his anti-immigration views, Elon Musk has actively supported ICE operations and called out protesters “Pure evil.”

The letter also calls on the tech CEOs to cancel all of the company’s contracts with ICE — a request that, like many contracts, could be costly Technology companies currently have contracts with ICE. Palantir is one of ICE’s most important technology partners. Last year the company was awarded Contract worth $30 million To build a new system based on artificial intelligence Observation platform It’s called the Migration Operating System. Last year, the facial recognition company Clearview AI has signed a contract To provide ICE with facial matching technology. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and oracle It also provides cloud infrastructure for the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, as well as IT services.

TechCrunch has reached out to the companies for comment.

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