Post the immigration ban, we have been witnessing various tech companies and experts doing their best to help affected people. The social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, were filled with tweets and posts airing their views on the issue. So far, we have seen techies and President Trump expressing their support on Twitter, but the platform now itself has come to the rescue.
The staff for the social media giant has contributed a massive sum of $1.59 million to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). This will further help them in fighting the battle against immigration ban. These contributions come from nearly 1,000 employees & further demand the President to reveal his tax returns. The donation is a mix of grants from employees, which includes monetary aid from CEO Jack Dorsey and Executive Chairman Omid Kordestan as well.
Talking about this contribution in a memo, Twitter General Counsel Vijaya Gadde, said,
Our work is far from done. In the coming months we’ll see a flurry of legal challenges, legislative pushes and public pronouncements. But as long as civil liberties are threatened, I’m proud to know that as individuals we will stand up to defend freedom and look after people.
Twitter is, however, not the first one to help ACLU to fight against the travel ban. Till now, the union has received grants of over $24 million over the past weekend. These donations come from prominent tech companies including Lyft, Google, and others.
The contributions to ACLU from Google comes from a recently created a $4 million crisis by the company. The funds will also be provided to other institutions — Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), International Rescue Committee (IRC) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees / UN Refugee Agency (UNHR).
Facebook, which is yet another social giant joined the initiative earlier this week. Facebook COO, Sandberg addressed the immigration ban and wrote a post saying,
In every generation since our country was founded, immigrants become new citizens and help us innovate and stay strong. How we treat some of the most vulnerable people on the planet says a lot about who we are. That history is something we must remember and honor now.#WeAreAllImmigrants.
ACLU has also received support from Silicon Valley under which the union entered Y Combinator’s accelerator program. The program will provide ACLU with mentorship and guidance in fields relative to hiring and the use of technology.
