Tech workers demand ICE contract cancellations after recent deaths

More than 450 tech workers from companies including Google, Meta, OpenAI, Amazon, and Salesforce have signed an open letter organized by IceOut.Tech. The letter urges their CEOs to call the White House and demand that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—the federal enforcement agency—leave U.S. cities. The campaign began after ICE agents shot and killed U.S. citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis three weeks ago. It grew over the weekend after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse in Minneapolis. The organizers write that federal agents have been sent to U.S. cities to criminalize residents, noting that when the administration threatened to send the National Guard to San Francisco in October, tech leaders successfully intervened. They add that in cities from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to Chicago, armed and masked thugs bring reckless violence, kidnapping, terror and cruelty.

The campaign has exposed a sharp divide among tech industry figures. Several leaders have publicly criticized the federal actions in Minnesota. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman described the operations as terrible for the people, while Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla criticized the enforcement as macho ICE vigilantes running amuck empowered by a conscious-less administration. Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean called on people to denounce the escalation of violence, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei emphasized the importance of preserving democratic values and rights at home. Signal president Meredith Whittaker asserted that masked agents are executing people in the streets while powerful leaders lie to cover for them. OpenAI head of global business James Dyett criticized the industry’s silence, stating that “there is far more outrage from tech leaders over a wealth tax than masked ICE agents terrorizing communities.” Meanwhile, major tech executives—including Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg—have remained silent, having previously attended or donated to the presidential inauguration. OpenAI president Greg Brockman and donor Anna Brockman have also refrained from speaking out, while Elon Musk has actively supported the operations, calling protestors pure evil.

In addition to political pressure, the campaign demands that tech companies cancel all active contracts with ICE. Several major technology firms currently provide software, biometric tools, and cloud infrastructure to the agency:

• Palantir: Holds a $30 million contract awarded last year to build ImmigrationOS, an AI-driven surveillance platform.
• Clearview AI: Signed a contract last year to provide facial-matching technology to the agency.
• Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Oracle: Provide cloud infrastructure and IT services to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.

Why it matters

The campaign highlights the growing friction between tech industry contracts with federal agencies and the values of their workforce, forcing leaders to choose between government revenue and employee pressure.