Over 450 technology employees from firms including Google, Meta, OpenAI, Amazon, and Salesforce have endorsed an open letter pressing their chief executives to contact the White House and insist that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) withdraw from American cities. The letter, issued by IceOut.Tech, states: “For months now, Trump has sent federal agents to our cities to criminalize us, our neighbors, friends, colleagues, and family members.” It continues, “From Minneapolis to Los Angeles to Chicago, we’ve seen armed and masked thugs bring reckless violence, kidnapping, terror and cruelty with no end in sight.”

Minneapolis has emerged as the center of a major federal immigration operation, using methods so aggressive that many describe it as a military occupation. The operation has featured clashes between federal agents and community members opposing the raids, with law enforcement widely using crowd control measures such as pepper spray, tear gas, rubber bullets, and sound cannons. “This cannot continue, and we know the tech industry can make a difference,” the letter adds. “When Trump threatened to send the National Guard to San Francisco in October, tech industry leaders called the White House. It worked: Trump backed down.”

This mobilization among tech workers started after ICE agents fatally shot U.S. citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis three weeks ago and expanded over the weekend following the shooting death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital, by Border Patrol agents. The letter’s organizers have not revealed their identities, and many signatories chose anonymity due to concerns about retaliation. Several tech figures have already criticized federal actions in Minneapolis. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman described ICE’s methods as “terrible for the people,” while Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla labeled the current enforcement “macho ICE vigilantes running amuck empowered by a conscious-less administration.” Jeff Dean, chief scientist at Google DeepMind, urged “every person regardless of political affiliation” to condemn the escalation of violence. James Dyett, OpenAI’s head of global business, pointed out the industry’s quiet stance, posting on X that “there is far more outrage from tech leaders over a wealth tax than masked ICE agents terrorizing communities.”

Signal President Meredith Whittaker expressed dismay that masked agents are “executing people in the streets and powerful leaders are openly lying to cover for them. To everyone in my industry who’s ever claimed to value freedom - draw on the courage of your convictions and stand up.”

Nevertheless, many of the most influential leaders in technology have not only remained largely silent in opposing the Trump administration’s directives but have also actively sought to gain favor with the president. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg all attended President Trump’s inauguration and contributed to the inauguration fund personally or through their companies. None have publicly addressed the increase in ICE raids. OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his wife Anna are also notable donors to causes and candidates linked to President Trump and have avoided speaking out. Aligning with his anti-immigration stance, Elon Musk has openly supported ICE operations, calling protesters “pure evil.”

The letter further demands that tech CEOs terminate all corporate contracts with ICE—a potentially costly move, as multiple tech companies currently hold agreements with the agency. Palantir stands as one of ICE’s most important tech partners, having secured a $30 million contract last year to develop a new AI-powered surveillance platform named “ImmigrationOS.” Last year, facial recognition firm Clearview AI also entered a contract to supply ICE with facial-matching technology. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Oracle provide cloud infrastructure and IT services to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.