Microsoft has asked President Donald Trump's administration for an exception to the executive order (EO) on immigration that bans travel from seven majority-Muslim countries.
The computing behemoth is seeking a program that would allow people from those countries to enter and leave the United States on business or family emergency travel if they hold valid work or student visas and have not committed any crimes.
In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Microsoft president Brad Smith argued for instituting a case-by-case review of such exceptions to the ban. Many have seen the EO as unfairly targeting Muslims, and tech companies have argued that it blocks their ability to seek out top talent in a market where skills shortages are critical in areas like cybersecurity.
While foreign-born people with permanent residence status—green-card holders—were granted an exception last weekend during the chaotic rollout of the EO, Microsoft still has 76 employees (and 41 dependents) who are affected by the travel ban. These workers from the banned regions—Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia—are holders of the H-1B visa, a temporary work visa that the tech and cybersecurity sectors rely on to recruit foreign talent.
The proposal would also allow students to travel from affected countries if they can prove they were enrolled and in good standing at a US school; universities are a crucial part of the talent pool for tech and cybersecurity recruiters.
"In short, these individuals are 'known quantities' in their communities: their character, personalities, conduct, and behavior is understood by their colleagues, employers, friends and neighbors," Smith said in a blog post.
Microsoft is also reportedly considering signing an open letter to Trump expressing concern about his indefinite ban on Syrian refugees, as well as the unclear fate of the “dreamers”—an estimated 750,000 people brought to the United States illegally as children. This latter group is protected from deportation under an Obama-era law known as DACA—a law which Trump is said to be considering repealing.
It’s not just Microsoft that is concerned with the immigration stance of the new president: Google, Apple and Amazon.com, all big employers of foreign-born tech talent, have expressed opposition to the administration’s policies, and are considering signing the open letter (along with Facebook), according to Bloomberg. Also, Amazon and Expedia this week filed declarations of support for a legal challenge to the EO by the Washington state Attorney General.