Sundar Pichai Slams President Trump's Immigration Order, Calls It 'Painful' In His Email To Staff

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai slammed President Donald Trump's immigration order in an email that he wrote to his employees late Friday and recognized it as a 'painful' decision. He said that as a result of Trump's ban on seven countries, at least 187 Google employees will be affected.

AFP

In his executive order, Trump banned people coming from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for at least 90 days. He also indefinitely banned Syrian refugees from the US and suspended the refugee programme in a bid to keep the "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the US.

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In his email, Pichai wrote,

"We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US. It¡¯s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues. Our first order of business is to help Googlers who are affected. If you¡¯re abroad and need help please reach out to our global security team."

Reuters

Acknowledging how Googlers and their families were affected by this grave situation, Pichai said that they were,

"Grappling with what this might mean for them and their families. Just as that discussion was happening, another Googler was rushing back from a trip to New Zealand to make it into the US before the order was signed."

Reuters

He added,

"We wouldn¡¯t wish this fear and uncertainty on anyone¡ªand especially not our fellow Googlers. In times of uncertainty, our values remain the best guide."

Earlier on Friday, Mark Zuckerberg had also strongly condemned Trump's order. He had said, "We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat."