SAN FRANCISCO — In a direct challenge to the silence of Big Tech leadership, hundreds of workers at companies including Google, Amazon, and TikTok have signed a public letter urging their CEOs to “pick up the phone” and press President Trump to halt escalating immigration raids.1 The petition, released on January 20, 2026, marks a significant escalation in internal labor activism as the Trump administration’s second-term deportation agenda sweeps through major U.S. cities.
The letter’s central demand is a return to “corporate diplomacy.” Signatories cited a reported October 2025 incident where tech leaders, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, successfully lobbied the White House to pause a federal “surge” in San Francisco.2
“Pick Up the Phone”
The movement, organized by former Stripe employee and HR consultant AnnE Diemer, reflects a growing anxiety within an industry that relies heavily on global talent.3 Workers argue that current Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations—which have shifted toward aggressive “at-large” arrests and worksite raids—threaten not only their colleagues but the basic stability required for business operations.4
“There is a stereotype that tech is with Trump on this because of lucrative government contracts,” Diemer stated.5 “We wanted to show that it isn’t all of us.”
The pressure campaign highlights a sharp divide:
- The Worker View: Immigrant labor is the backbone of American innovation; raids create a climate of “indiscriminate terror” that hampers productivity and safety.
- The Corporate View: CEOs face an unprecedented “retribution risk,” as the Justice Department has launched investigations into several political foes of the administration.6
ICE Enforcement: The 2026 Landscape
The urgency of the letter follows a violent week in Minneapolis, which has become a national flashpoint after the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen during an ICE operation on January 13.7
| Metric | 2025-2026 Shift | Impact on Tech Hubs |
| ICE Detention Population | Up 75% (to 66,000+) | Highest levels in U.S. history |
| Arrests (No Criminal Record) | Surged 2,450% | Targets individuals with H-1B or pending status |
| Federal Funding | $45 Billion authorized | Expansion of “tent camp” detention centers |
| Workplace Presence | Record Highs | High-profile audits of I-9 records in Silicon Valley |
The Ethics of “ImmigrationOS”
Beyond lobbying for a pause in raids, the letter demands that tech giants cancel existing contracts with ICE.8 Activists pointed to companies like Palantir, which recently secured a $30 million contract for “ImmigrationOS”—a data infrastructure project that aggregates IRS and local police records to streamline deportations.9+1
“When people are being killed on the streets, business goes to hell,” said Lisa Conn, a former Meta employee and signatory.10 She argued that the drift toward authoritarian enforcement tactics undermines the “rule of law” that capitalists ostensibly depend on.
A Growing Coalition
While none of the major tech firms have officially responded to the January 20 letter, the list of signatories continues to grow.11 It now includes senior figures such as a chief technology architect at Nokia and a vice president at Mozilla.12
Labor organizers have signaled that if CEOs remain silent, the next step will involve coordinated “sick-outs” and protests at corporate headquarters on May 1, 2026.13 For now, the message to the corner office is simple: neutral silence is no longer an option.
Silicon Valley (TV series), Wikimedia Image by HBO
