Apple CEO Tim Cook slams Trump's executive order as Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter and Google lead the outcry against the ban

Apple CEO Tim Cook has joined to condemn President Trump's immigration ban. 'We wouldn't exist without immigration'

He told staff that the company 'wouldn't exist' without immigration and insisted the firm does not support the policy.

In an email to workers, obtained by Recode, he wrote: 'Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do.

'I've heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support.'

He then quoted Dr. Martin Luther King in the note to employees: 'In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, 'We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.'

He spoke out as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai lead the outcry from business leaders.

" My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscilla's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that.

Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump.

We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing 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.

We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today.

That said, I was glad to hear President Trump say he's going to "work something out" for Dreamers -- immigrants who were brought to this country at a young age by their parents. Right now, 750,000 Dreamers benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that allows them to live and work legally in the US. I hope the President and his team keep these protections in place, and over the next few weeks I'll be working with our team at FWD.us to find ways we can help.

I'm also glad the President believes our country should continue to benefit from "people of great talent coming into the country."

These issues are personal for me even beyond my family. A few years ago, I taught a class at a local middle school where some of my best students were undocumented. They are our future too. We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here. I hope we find the courage and compassion to bring people together and make this world a better place for everyone."

Trump signed an order on Friday banning immigrants from seven countries from entering the United States, even if they have already been approved.

But the ban was temporarily overturned on Saturday after the ACLU won a stay in federal court, meaning those affected cannot be deported and sent back to their home countries.

Zuckerberg broke his silence about President Trump's restrictive immigration policies in a heartfelt Facebook post on Friday evening.

The billionaire wrote of his vehement disagreement with Trump's promise to build a wall at the Mexican border, and his signing of an executive order banning Syrian refugees and preventing immigrants from selected countries from entering the United States.

Zuckerberg, who is married to a first generation immigrant, wrote about his own European nationality and his hope that the nation can come together as one.

He wrote: 'My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscilla's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that.

'Like many of you, I'm concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump.'

On Wednesday, Donald Trump kept to his promise to 'build the wall' - signing executive orders that will employ 5,000 new border control officers, 10,000 deportation agents, and remove government funding for sanctuary cities.

Zuckerberg continued: 'We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing 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.'

'We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today.'

Zuckerberg continued: 'That said, I was glad to hear President Trump say he's going to 'work something out' for Dreamers - immigrants who were brought to this country at a young age by their parents.

'Right now, 750,000 Dreamers benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that allows them to live and work legally in the US. I hope the President and his team keep these protections in place, and over the next few weeks I'll be working with our team at FWD.us to find ways we can help.

'I'm also glad the President believes our country should continue to benefit from 'people of great talent coming into the country.''

The CEO finished his emotive letter, stating: 'These issues are personal for me even beyond my family. A few years ago, I taught a class at a local middle school where some of my best students were undocumented. They are our future too.

'We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here.

'I hope we find the courage and compassion to bring people together and make this world a better place for everyone.'

Zuckerberg should know the importance of having highly skilled immigrants in the workforce. Facebook, as with many other companies, employs engineers from around the world to program their technology.

Many Facebook users were quick to respond to the billionaire's message, with a clear divide between those supporting and criticizing his statements.

Though the responses were generally positive, many criticized Zuckerberg for his 'hypocritical' statements about Trump's wall, given the fact that he recently constructed a wall around his $100 million home in Hawaii.

Many also argued that Trump is not opposing, immigration, but just wants to promote legal immigration.

Meanwhile, Google is urgently calling back employees from overseas.

CEO Sundar Pichai said Trump's move affects at least 187 members of the company's staff.

Bloomberg News obtained a copy of Pichai's memo to employees, which read: 'It's painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues.

'We've always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so.'

'We're concerned 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 U.S.,' Google, part of Alphabet Inc, said in a statement. 'We'll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere.'

One Google employee of Iranian nationality with legal U.S. residency made it back to the United States just hours before the order took effect, the executive said.

Microsoft said in a statement: 'We share the concerns about the impact of the executive order on our employees from the listed countries, all of whom have been in the United States lawfully, and we're actively working with them to provide legal advice and assistance.'

A lengthy email to Microsoft employees on Saturday included the lines: 'We're aware of 76 Microsoft employees who are citizens of these countries and have a U.S. visa and are therefore affected by this new Order.

'We've already contacted everyone in this group. But there may be other employees from these countries who have U.S. green cards rather than a visa who may be affected, and there may be family members from these countries that we haven't yet reached.'

Uber CEO, Travis Kalanick sent an email to employees, which he then posted on Facebook. It reads: 'Our People Ops team has already reached out to the dozen or so employees who we know are affected: for example, those who live and work in the U.S., are legal residents but not naturalized citizens will not be able to get back into the country if they are traveling outside of the U.S. now or anytime in the next 90 days.
'This order has far broader implications as it also affects thousands of drivers who use Uber and come from the listed countries, many of whom take long breaks to go back home to see their extended family.

'These drivers currently outside of the U.S. will not be able to get back into the country for 90 days. That means they will not be able to earn a living and support their families—and of course they will be separated from their loved ones during that time.

'We are working out a process to identify these drivers and compensate them pro bono during the next three months to help mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table.'

Twitter wrote: " Twitter is built by immigrants of all religions. We stand for and with them, always."

On Friday, Trump signed a second executive order that went into immediate effect, banning Syrian refugees from entering the country.

Since 2011, an estimated 11 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes for survival after civil war broke out, according to the EU website.

For 120 days, no Syrians will be permitted to enter the United States, and for 90 days, residents of the 'terror-prone' countries of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia are also banned, CNN said.

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