Snap, Uber and Facebook file brief opposing Trumps travel ban

More than 90 technology companies, many of which were founded by and employ thousands of immigrants, have filed an amicus brief opposing President Donald Trump's "Muslim travel ban."

The brief was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit late Sunday night. Bloomberg, which first reported the news, wrote that the document was planned for later in the week. The process was sped up however due to challenges presented by the administration's executive order, which bars travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Participants include Netflix, Square, Salesforce, Airbnb, Uber, Pinterest, AppNexus, Twitter, Yelp, Reddit, Kickstarter, GitHub, Glassdoor, Box, Mozilla, Dropbox, Twilio, Zynga and Medium.

Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, is also signing on, Mashable has learned, along with Google and Facebook.

"The executive order on immigration goes against our core values as a nation. We are proud to join leading organizations in highlighting to the courts how the order is unconstitutional, unjust, and economically unsound," Aaron Levie, cofounder and CEO of Box, said in an emailed statement.

The brief highlights the important contributions immigrants have made to American companies and explicitly ties their economic success to that work. The brief is 53 pages.

"Immigrants make many of the Nation’s greatest discoveries."

"Immigrants make many of the Nation's greatest discoveries, and create some of the country’s most innovative and iconic companies. Immigrants are among our leading politicians, artists, and philanthropists," it reads.

"The experience and energy of people who come to our country to seek a better life for themselves and their children—to pursue the 'American Dream' are woven throughout the social, political, and economic fabric of the Nation."

Amazon and Microsoft previously signed onto a lawsuit opposing the executive order from Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. His suit temporarily halted enforcement of large parts of the ban on Friday.

The executive order has caused an uproar among tech companies. In its wake, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down from his role on Trump's business advisory council after sustained criticism.

Source: Techgig