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Leading Voices From Business, Entertainment Worlds Slam Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban

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A flood of pro-immigrant, pro-refugee, pro-Muslim voices from the business, financial, and entertainment worlds have joined demonstrators on the ground to condemn the Donald Trump Administration’s unconstitutional executive orders, which have resulted in chaos at airports across the US and abroad.

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky:

Apple CEO Tim Cook:

“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.”

Box CEO Aaron Levie:

“On basically any level — moral, economic, or logical — this is the wrong thing to do and is antithetical to America’s principles. Turning our back on people from countries dealing with major humanitarian crises is against our values, and targeting groups largely based on religion is dangerous and disastrous policy. While this order will ultimately be ineffective, the signal it sends to America’s allies and enemies is the wrong one: it’s one of fear, distrust, and exclusion.”

Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson:

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg:

“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.”

GE CEO Jeff Immelt:

“We have many employees from the named countries and we do business all over the region. These employees and customers are critical to our success and they are our friends and partners. We stand with them and will work with the U.S. administration to strive to find the balance between the need for security and the movement of law abiding people.”

Goldman Sachs’ CEO Lloyd Blankfein:

“This is not a policy we support, and I would note that it has already been challenged in federal court, and some of the order has been enjoined at least temporarily…Let me close by quoting from our business principles: ‘For us to be successful, our men and women must reflect the diversity of the communities and cultures in which we operate. That means we must attract, retain and motivate people from many backgrounds and perspectives. Being diverse is not optional; it is what we must be.’ Now is a fitting time to reflect on those words and the principles that underlie them.”

Google CEO Sundar Pichai:

“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.”

JPMorgan:

“In light of recent executive orders in the United States regarding immigration policy, we want every one of you to know of our unwavering commitment to the dedicated people working here at JPMorgan Chase. This includes a number of our outstanding employees — all of whom have adhered to our country’s immigration and employment processes — who have come to the United States to serve our company, clients and communities.”

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner:

Lyft CEO Logan Green:

Microsoft:

“We believe the executive order is misguided and a fundamental step backwards. There are more effective ways to protect public safety without creating so much collateral damage to the country’s reputation and values.”

Mozilla CEO Chris Bear:

“The immigration ban imposed by Friday’s executive order is overly broad and its implementation is highly disruptive to fostering a culture of innovation and economic growth. The ban will have an unnecessary negative impact to the health and safety of those affected and their families, not to mention rejecting refugees fleeing persecution, terror and war.”

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings:

“Trump’s actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe. A very sad week, and more to come with the lives of over 600,000 Dreamers here in a America under imminent threat. It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity.”

Nike CEO Mark Parker:

“Nike stands together against bigotry and any form of discrimination. Now more than ever, let’s stand up for our values and remain open and inclusive as a brand and as a company.”

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff:

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz:

“We have a long history of hiring young people looking for opportunities and a pathway to a new life around the world. This is why we are doubling down on this commitment by working with our equity market employees as well as joint venture and licensed market partners in a concerted effort to welcome and seek opportunities for those fleeing war, violence, persecution and discrimination.  There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business.  And we will start this effort here in the U.S. by making the initial focus of our hiring efforts on those individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support.”

Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson:

“By instituting a religious test, we have very clearly enshrined religious discrimination in federal policy (and emboldened the “us vs. them” storyline that terror organizations propagate.) There is another word for this, it is ignorance. Perpetrators of terror on our soil have come from every walk of life — Christians, Jews and Muslims, blacks, whites and Latinos. Immigrants and native born citizens. There is another word for this, it is inhumane. By barring refugees, we will undoubtedly contribute to the death of more people than terrorism has ever killed on US soil. In short — by extinguishing that beacon of hope and freedom, and abandoning our most cherished values — we succumb to terror. Our enemy is not terror, it is losing our soul while fighting terror. America is stronger than this.”

Twitter:

Western Union CEO Hikmet Ersek retweeted a message of support from the Prime Minister of Canada:

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson:

And at last night’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, numerous celebrities and entertainment figures slammed Trump’s ban, and offered their ongoing support to Muslims and refugees, including families who continued to be detained at airports. From the Washington Post:

“Good evening, fellow SAG-AFTRA members and everyone at home — and everyone in airports that belong in my America,” host Ashton Kutcher said to big applause, as he kicked off the show. “You are a part of the fabric of who we are, and we love you and we welcome you.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, picking up an award for TV comedy actress on HBO’s “Veep,” started out with jokes about Russians hacking the SAG Award voting, but quickly got serious as she slammed the executive order.

“I want you all to know that I’m the daughter of an immigrant. My father fled religious persecution in Nazi-occupied France. And I’m an American patriot and I love this country. And because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes. And this immigrant ban is its blemish and it’s un-American,” Louis-Dreyfus said, reading a statement made by the Writers Guild earlier on Sunday: “Our guilds are unions of storytellers who have always welcomed those from other nations, and of varying beliefs, who wish to share their creativity with America. We are grateful to them. We stand with them. We will fight for them.”

Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” star Taylor Schilling took the microphone when her cast won best comedy ensemble. “We stand up here representing a diverse group of people, representing generations of families who have sought a better life here, from places like Nigeria, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Ireland,” she ticked off. “And we know it’s going to be up to us and all of you, probably, to keep telling stories that show what unites us is stronger than the forces seek to divide us.”

Mahershala Ali of “Moonlight” was on the verge of tears throughout his speech for best supporting actor, which he won for playing a drug dealer who helps mentor a troubled kid who is bullied for his sexuality.

“I think what I have learned from working on ‘Moonlight,’ we see what happens when you persecute people. They fold into themselves. And what I was so grateful about … was playing a gentleman who saw a young man folding into himself as a result of the persecution of his community — and taking that opportunity to uplift him and tell him that he mattered, that he was okay and accept him,” Ali said, voice shaking. “I hope that we do a better job of that. When we kind of get caught up in the minutiae, the details that make us different, I think there’s two ways of seeing that: There’s an opportunity to see the texture of that person, the characteristics that make them unique — and then there’s the opportunity to go to war about it.”

Taraji P. Henson’s powerful speech had similar themes when she accepted the best cast ensemble win for “Hidden Figures,” about black female mathematicians who worked at NASA in the 1960s. “This story is of unity. This story is that what happens when we put our differences aside and we come together as a human race,” she told the audience, who was screaming and cheering wildly. “We win. Love wins every time.”

We will continue to update this document.