Google Tells Offshore Staff To Return To The US After Trump Executive Order

影響愈來愈擴闊 ......

www.zerohedge.com

In the immediate aftermath of Trump's controversial executive order, prohibiting entry into the US of citizens from seven mostly-Muslim nations - Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya - yet which excludes such nations as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey in which Trump has done business deals...

... Google issued a stark warning to staff traveling overseas who may be impacted by Trump's new executive order on immigration: Get back to the U.S. now. 

According to Bloomberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai slammed Trump’s move in a note to employees Friday, telling them that more than 100 company staff are affected by the order. "It’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," Pichai wrote in the memo. "We’ve always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so."

The memo follows a similar statement made on Friday by Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg in which he said he was “concerned” by Trump’s recent moves to restrict immigration.

Per the memo, some Google employees were traveling abroad and were trying to get back to the U.S. before the order took effect. The company asked them to reach out to Google’s security, travel, and immigration teams for assistance, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person asked not to be identified talking about internal company communications. 

The employees in question normally work in the U.S. but just happened to be abroad either on work assignments or vacations. The concern is that even if Google staff have valid visas, they may still be at risk if they’re from one of the seven countries and they’re outside the U.S. when the order kicks in, the person also said.

One employee rushed back from a trip to New Zealand to make it into the U.S. before the order was signed, Google’s Pichai wrote in his memo.

"We’re concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.," a Google spokeswoman said in a statement. "We’ll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere."

The unexpected fallout and Google's comments "underscore a growing rift between the Trump administration and several large U.S. technology companies, which include many immigrants in their ranks and have lobbied for fewer immigration restrictions. Pichai’s note echoed similar statements from tech peers voicing concerns about the harm such policies could have on their businesses."

The Department of Homeland Security issued a directive on Friday afternoon ordering the Customs and Border Control agency to enforce the order, the New York Daily News reported. Late Friday, some green card and visa holders were already being blocked from boarding flights to the U.S., the newspaper said.

"We are advising our clients from those seven countries who have green cards or any type of H-1B visa not to travel outside the U.S." said Ava Benach, a partner at immigration law firm Benach Collopy LLP, while noting that the order takes effect immediately. “No one is really sure whether a green card holder from these seven countries can return to the U.S. now. It’s fairly clear that an H-1B visa holder can’t," Benach said. The H-1B lets U.S. companies employ graduate-level workers from other countries in technical occupations such as technology, engineering and science.

"If anyone in these situations has the misfortune to have gone abroad recently, it’s a treacherous moment, possibly for green card holders too," Benach said.

Other technology companies are likely in a similar situation, she added. In addition to Facebook, Microsoft inserted language in a securities filing on Thursday on the issue, cautioning investors that immigration restrictions "may inhibit our ability to adequately staff our research and development efforts."

on.cc東網專訊

美國總統特朗普上周五簽署行政命令，禁止7個中東及非洲回教國家的民眾入境90日。美媒報道，禁令也適用於持美國綠卡者、來自受影響國家的民眾。同時，若果該7個國家的民眾擁有美國以外的雙重國籍，也會被禁止入境。

來自敍利亞、伊朗、伊拉克、蘇丹、利比亞、索馬里、也門的民眾，即日起被禁止入境美國90日。美國一名高級官員上周六表示，若持有美國綠卡者（即獲得美國合法永久居留權的外籍人士）是來自上述國家，並且目前身處海外，他們在回國時需查詢當地的美國使館，以確認能否回國。

同時，《華爾街日報》上周六報道，如果上述7個國家的民眾，同時持有美國以外的另一個國籍，例如持英國護照入境的伊拉克人，也被禁止進入美國90日。由於有關的行政命令引起混亂，美國國土安全部及國務院正準備指引，讓各地機場及航空公司參考。

另外，美國普林斯頓大學、史丹福大學、羅切斯特理工學院緊急呼籲校內的外籍學生及學者，如果他們是來自行政命令中提及的7個中東及非洲國家，應該延遲離開美國的計劃，直至當局釐清行政命令對他們的影響。

on.cc東網專訊

美國總統特朗普上周五簽署行政命令，暫停審批7個回教國家的旅客或移民簽證。美國公民自由協會（ACLU）隨即入稟法院挑戰特朗普的決定，法官其後批准發出緊急停留令，讓已抵達美國、受行政命令影響的外國人，暫時留在美國。

特朗普大筆一揮，簽下引起爭議的行政命令，即時生效，當天即有伊朗人、也門人和伊拉克人無法登上前往美國的客機，受害者包括在加州留學但回國後不得其門而入的伊朗學生。來自該7個回教國家的人即使持有雙重國籍，也被禁止入境美國，但外交大使和國際組織成員則享有豁免權。

在兩名伊拉克男子當晚在紐約約翰甘迺迪國際機場遭扣押後，ACLU和其他維權組織率先提出訴訟，指兩人遭非法拘留，要求放人。其中一人達爾韋什（Hameed Khalid Darweesh）已在翌日獲釋；2003年美國進侵伊拉克時，他充當美軍的傳譯員。但是，仍有11人在機場遭到扣押。維權組織要求代表所有因為特朗普的行政命令而遭扣押的難民和旅客，提出集體訴訟。

紐約聯邦法官其後判ACLU勝訴，並發出緊急停留令，令那些受行政命令影響的外國人，若他們持有效簽證並已抵達美國，可以暫時繼續留美，不用被驅逐出境。ACLU表示，受行政命令影響，估計有大約100至200人在美國境內機場被扣留。

根據世界銀行2013年的人口普查數據，受特朗普行政命令影響人數至少1.34億人。這些被列為黑名單的國家在2016年被列為簽證「關注國」。