The Trump administration has recently come under fire for the brutal separation of migrant families at the U.S. border. Between October 1, 2017, and May 31, 2018, at least 2,700 children were taken from their parents after their families were apprehended crossing the border illegally. Since U.S. policy states that any adult caught entering the U.S. illegally is to be criminally prosecuted, their children are then treated as “unaccompanied minors” and sent into the care of a different government department. This family separation is supposedly temporary, but the government is sending very mixed signals about how—and if—families will actually be reunited.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), parents will be reunited with their children in civil immigration detention once they have finished their criminal sentences for illegal entry. However, this contradicts the statement of a Department of Justice (DOJ) official, who told a judge that “once a parent is in ICE custody and the child is taken into the Health and Human Services system, the government does not try to reunite them, and instead attempts to place the child with another relative in the United States—if the child has one.” So, the government is clearly OK with breaking families apart, and doesn’t seem to care about getting them back together.
This policy has brought shame to the American people and has sparked furious commentary from celebrities, CEOs, government officials and even the United Nations. Those who aren’t blind followers of the Trump administration know that FamilySeparation.Sucks, and those companies who support these disgusting actions committed on U.S. soil need to be held accountable. Which brings us to our latest bad corporate behavior awards.
Microsoft Supports ICE
In June 2018, outraged employees of technology giant Microsoft penned a letter to CEO Satya Nadella, calling out the company’s $19.4 million contract with ICE, the group largely responsible for the separation of families at the U.S. border. The letter demands that Microsoft executives put the protection of families and children above profits and “enforce a clear policy stating that neither Microsoft nor its contractors will work with clients who violate international human rights law.”
Do you think Microsoft.Sucks? Apparently, you’re not alone.
The Blunders of Dell, Motorola Solutions, Amazon and More
Microsoft is not the only company still willfully turning a blind eye to the actions of ICE in order to protect lucrative contracts. Dell currently has a handful of active software contracts with ICE, including one for a potential award amount of $500,000. Motorola Solutions also holds more than $15 million in active contracts with ICE. Neither company has so far made a comment about the separation of migrant families, and even Microsoft has since condemned them (cough-hypocrites-cough), claiming they are “dismayed” by the turn of events.
Amazon employees followed their Microsoft counterparts’ lead when they discovered that Amazon has a $12,000 purchase order with ICE. They wrote a letter to CEO Jeff Bezos and demanded that he cancel face recognition contracts with law enforcement. Amazon really needs to act fast to get ahead of this negative messaging—especially since stories of abysmal working conditions in their warehouses have been popping up online recently.
Would you still buy products from these big brands knowing about their shaky ethics, or do you think Dell.Sucks, Motorola.Sucks and Amazon.Sucks?
Other Tech Giants Take a Stand
While numerous execs twiddle their thumbs during what can only be described as a massive human rights crisis within our borders, other tech companies are taking a strong stance against the separation of families that seek refuge in the U.S. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are among those who have publicly called out ICE for their actions. The trending hashtag #KeepFamiliesTogether further enforces that the majority of Americans are against these disgraceful practices.
Inaction.Sucks, so we’re glad to see that at least some companies within the U.S. are making their voices heard when it counts.
The Takeaway
Companies need to own their shit. When tech giants like Microsoft and Dell get called out for bad corporate behavior, they need to come clean and make a change—fast. The longer they wait to take positive, productive action, the longer customers and employees have time to imagine a bunch of billionaire execs humming and hawing around a boardroom table about the merits of human life and decency over company profits. Gross. If you think ICE.Sucks, it’s time to take a stand. NOW.
It’s not that hard to see that TheRefugeeCrisis.Sucks. Use a .SUCKS domain to make your opinion heard loud and clear and to let the President and ICE know that it’s never okay to separate families.
Photo Credits: Flickr / Molly Adams, Flickr / Gareth Rushgrove, Flickr / atmtx
