• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Social Security's 2032 deadline puts a 22% cut on the table — but Washington has way less room to negotiate than 1983

2

CEO of $20 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear’ that your competitor will steal your idea

3

Iran proved it can close the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. is advertising very loudly that the world's top superpower can at least punch open a hole

1

Social Security's 2032 deadline puts a 22% cut on the table — but Washington has way less room to negotiate than 1983

2

CEO of $20 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear’ that your competitor will steal your idea

3

Iran proved it can close the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. is advertising very loudly that the world's top superpower can at least punch open a hole
LeadershipDonald Trump

Trump’s Immigration Ban Ruptures Truce with Business, as Tech Leaders Speak Out

By
Tory Newmyer
Tory Newmyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tory Newmyer
Tory Newmyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 28, 2017, 10:22 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

President Trump and top business leaders settled into an uneasy detente after his shock-victory in November. It began to fray Saturday, when a handful of tech executives spoke out against Trump’s order banning U.S. entry to immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries.

Dissent started trickling in from Silicon Valley chiefs as the extent of the ban, issued late Friday afternoon, became clear. With green card-holding employees left stranded abroad—and news reports dominated by reports of refugees from war zones getting detained in American airports—execs from Google, Facebook, Apple, Lyft, and Uber voiced varying degrees of alarm.

A federal judge on Saturday issued an emergency ruling protecting refugees and other immigrants stuck in American airports from being sent back to their countries. But the judge did not grant them entry or address the constitutionality of Trump’s directive.

“It’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues,” Google CEO Sunar Pichai wrote in a memo obtained by Bloomberg News. The travel ban ensnared some 187 Googlers who hail from the countries it targets. “We’ve always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so,” Pichai added.

Apple CEO Tim Cook weighed in, as well, writing in his own memo to his workforce that the company—founded by Steve Jobs, the son of immigrants from Syria, one of the impacted countries—“would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do.” Writing from Washington, where Cook has been meeting with senior lawmakers and senior Trump hands, Apple’s CEO said some of the iPhone makers’ employees were “directly affected” by the ban. Apple’s human resources, legal, and security teams were doing what they could for them, Cook wrote, and the company has already reached out to the White House to register its objections.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to his own platform Friday afternoon to opine that the U.S. should focus its security measures on “people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don’t pose a threat will live in fear of deportation.” Zuckerberg noted his family and that of his wife, Priscilla, arrived here as refugees.

The criticism from tech leaders marked the first meaningful breach between corporate brass and Trump since his win quieted what had been seemingly near-uniform opposition to his candidacy from Silicon Valley and other business leaders. No Fortune 100 CEO endorsed Trump in the race, while others, including some who self-identify as Republicans, backed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Trump’s victory initiated a truce. A market rally unleashed by expectations of new infrastructure spending and regulatory rollbacks helped hold it together—as did fear in C-suites of being singled out by the new president, who’s wielded his Twitter account to name and shame American companies he believes are underinvesting at home.

Fortune on Saturday reached out to most of the companies in the Fortune 100. Many didn’t respond to requests for comment on the immigration ban. Others declined to comment or said they were still reviewing its impact.

About the Author
By Tory Newmyer
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

The billionaire founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners makes plea to businesses adopting AI: ‘Don’t destroy your intern program’
AIBrainstorm Tech
The billionaire founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners makes plea to businesses adopting AI: ‘Don’t destroy your intern program’
By Jeff John RobertsJune 15, 2026
3 hours ago
Ricardo Pepi
SuccessCareers
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
By Preston ForeJune 15, 2026
4 hours ago
NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson
SuccessCareers
Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson just led New York to an NBA title—and says his basketball legend dad got him ready for the moment
By Emma BurleighJune 15, 2026
4 hours ago
vinod
C-SuiteGoogle
Silicon Valley legend Vinod Khosla tears into ‘idiotic, shortsighted, and very selfish’ Gen Z Stanford protests of Google CEO: ‘The stupidity’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 15, 2026
4 hours ago
Michelle Obama clarifies her famous ‘Go high’ motto: It’s not about anger or pain, but more like putting a safety lock on a gun
SuccessMost Powerful Women
Michelle Obama clarifies her famous ‘Go high’ motto: It’s not about anger or pain, but more like putting a safety lock on a gun
By Sydney LakeJune 15, 2026
5 hours ago
Stella Li speaking on stage
C-SuiteBYD
BYD wants to become the world’s largest automaker in five years. Stella Li is the executive selling that vision to the world
By Beatrice NolanJune 15, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

Social Security's 2032 deadline puts a 22% cut on the table — but Washington has way less room to negotiate than 1983
Personal Finance
Social Security's 2032 deadline puts a 22% cut on the table — but Washington has way less room to negotiate than 1983
By John W. Diamond and The ConversationJune 12, 2026
3 days ago
CEO of $20 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear’ that your competitor will steal your idea
Success
CEO of $20 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear’ that your competitor will steal your idea
By Preston ForeJune 13, 2026
2 days ago
Iran proved it can close the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. is advertising very loudly that the world's top superpower can at least punch open a hole
Energy
Iran proved it can close the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. is advertising very loudly that the world's top superpower can at least punch open a hole
By Jason MaJune 14, 2026
1 day ago
Boomers actually do hold most of the wealth and power. So why do they call it 'whiny' to point that out?
Economy
Boomers actually do hold most of the wealth and power. So why do they call it 'whiny' to point that out?
By Nick LichtenbergJune 14, 2026
1 day ago
SpaceX surge further boosts Saudi billionaire prince’s fortune
Investing
SpaceX surge further boosts Saudi billionaire prince’s fortune
By Adveith Nair and BloombergJune 14, 2026
1 day ago
AI job disruption is here. The problem may be compounded because nearly 75% of people don't apply for unemployment benefits
AI
AI job disruption is here. The problem may be compounded because nearly 75% of people don't apply for unemployment benefits
By Jacqueline MunisJune 14, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.