“In working with CBP, ICE, or ORR, Google
would be trading its integrity for a bit of profit,
and joining a shameful lineage,” the organizers
wrote. They cited federal actions that have
separated migrant children from parents and set
up detention centers with poor conditions.
Google employees have led a growing trend
in which some tech-company employees have
taken public stances against their employers’
policies. Thousands of Google employees walked
out last fall to protest the company’s handling
of sexual misconduct claims. Employees also
protested a Pentagon contract last year over
work that used artificial intelligence technology
to analyze drone footage.
The protests have chalked up some victories.
After the walkout , Google announced new
sexual misconduct guidelines, although some
employees say they don’t go far enough. And
the company did not renew the Pentagon
contract after significant pushback.
Responding to some employee pressures has
added fuel to claims from Republican pundits
and lawmakers that the company is building its
products to be biased against conservatives —
an unfounded claim that has spawned multiple
congressional hearings, although none that
have produced evidence of bias.
Google was hit with criticism by President
Donald Trump last week when the president
tweeted he was “watching Google very closely”
after a former employee claimed on Fox News
— without evidence — that the company would
try to influence the 2020 election against Trump.
Google has denied claims of political bias in its
popular search service and other products.