IT companies unite against Trump’s immigration policies in an amicus brief
American President Donald Trump’s views on immigration have been generating controversies ever since he first revealed them in his election campaign. However, the public reactions to this issue peaked on 27th January, when Trump gave an executive order banning refugees and citizens from seven countries from entering the US.
©ZUMA / EYEVINE
On Friday, a significant legal step was taken against Trump’s decision, as Federal Court judge James L. Robart of Seattle issued a temporary restraining order directed at the President’s travel ban, which was followed by the Department of Homeland Security allowing citizens from the seven countries to board their flights to the United States. In response to this action, the US Justice Department filed an emergency motion which demanded the reinstatement of the executive order. The request was rejected by a Federal Appeals Court on Sunday, but public opposition to President Trump’s immigration policy continues, with over 100 American companies and institutions signing an amicus brief, which is a legal document submitted to a court by any interested parties, against the ban. Among the signatories are tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, eBay, Adobe, HP and Tesla, as well as prestigious academic institutions like Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University.
In the amicus brief, the aforementioned companies and Universities, along with the other signatories, made statements in support of the further employment of non-American citizens. All of these companies and institutions are known for their reliance on immigrants; according to the 2016 Silicon Valley Index, released by the think tank Joint Venture, as much as 37.4% of the employees in Silicon Valley, the world’s IT haven, are foreign-born. Among the main arguments brought by the signatories against the travel ban are the following:
“It hinders the ability of American companies to attract great talent; increases costs imposed on business; makes it more difficult for American firms to compete in the international market- place; and gives global enterprises a new, significant incentive to build operations—and hire new employees—outside the United States.”
This amicus brief will be filed together with a similar one submitted by a number of federal states opposing the travel ban issued by the President. With judicial organs, large companies, educational institutions and local administrations across the country expressing their disapproval of this executive order, it remains to be seen whether and how Donald Trump will be able to impose his immigration policies.
English – German glossary:
to reveal = (hier) bekanntgeben
issue = Thema
to peak = (ihren) Höhepunkt erreichen
to ban = verbieten
Federal Court = Bundesgerichtshof
temporary restraining order = einstweilige Verfügung
to board a flight = einen Flug antreten
to file = einreichen
emergency motion = Dringlichkeitsantrag
to demand = verlangen
reinstatement = Wiedereinsetzung
request = Anforderung
to reject = ablehnen
Federal Appeals Court = Bundesberufungsgericht
amicus brief = Amicus-Curiae-Brief
to submit = vorlegen
signatories = Unterzeichner
giants = Riesen
prestigious = renommiert
to make a statement = eine Aussage machen
employment = Anstellung
reliance = (hier) Abhängigkeit
think tank = Expertenkommission
haven = (hier) Oase
foreign-born = im Ausland geboren
to impose sth = (hier) etw aufdrängen
disapproval = Missbilligung