Major tech leaders oppose Trump’s travel ban

Nearly 100 companies, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook, filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief against US President Donald Trump’s travel ban late Sunday night.

The companies believe that the ban precluding citizens of seven Muslim countries from the US will incentivise companies to move jobs outside of the US. “The Order makes it more difficult and expensive for US companies to recruit, hire, and retain some of the world’s best employees. It disrupts ongoing business operations,” the brief states.

Surprising additions to the list of dissenters are Tesla and SpaceX — both owned by Elon Musk, a member of Trump’s business advisory council. Musk has garnered attention for sticking by Trump and recently took to Twitter to defend his position. “I’m trying to provide advice that helps take things in a more positive direction,” he wrote.

Heavyweight tech firms, including Apple and Facebook, have joined forces to fight the travel ban by US President Donald Trump

There has been significant pressure for Musk to step away from the council after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down last week.

This brief is yet another form of protest against the president’s executive order, but Trump is not backing down. Like Musk, he took to Twitter to defend his position, blaming the courts for endangering the country. Trump has not commented on the companies’ arguments against the ban, despite having campaigned strongly for jobs to stay in the United States last year.

Trump’s administration is expected to provide oral arguments for and against the ban today to decide its immediate fate. The arguments will be live-streamed at 3pm PST (1am CAT) on the court’s public website, as well as YouTube.

Featured image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr