Trump immigration order causes rift with business

Many American businesses are publicly breaking with President Donald Trump over his anti-immigration policies, saying they could damage the firms' competitiveness by limiting access to the best and brightest employees.

Criticism of Trump's order has been most virulent in Silicon Valley, where chiefs of Apple, Microsoft, Airbnb and Google were among those to blast the policy, unveiled late Friday, which prohibits people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, and includes a temporary ban on refugees.

Protests erupted at airports nationwide over the weekend, while lawsuits led to judges blocking parts of the order, which initially prevented some legal US residents from returning home.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called the policies "un-American."

But executives outside of the technology industry have joined in questioning the immigration policies as well, although they have tryied to avoid provoking the administration, which is expected to pursue favored policies such as tax cuts and regulatory relief.

Any criticism could prompt blowback from Trump, who has lambasted individual companies, including Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Boeing and Lockheed.

- Looking out for employees -

Company chiefs have emphasized the importance of a diverse workforce in outlining the perils of Trump's approach on immigration.

"This is not a policy we support," Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein told employees in a recorded voice mail.

"I want to assure all of you that we will work to minimize such disruption to the extent we can within the law and are focused on supporting our colleagues and their families who may be affected."

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who is on a council of corporate chief executivess tasked with advising Trump on job growth, promised "unwavering commitment" to staff in a statement.

Goldman and JPMorgan have vast international businesses that advise and provide financing to foreign governments, multinationals and private wealth holders.

Boston-based General Electric, whose chief executive Jeff Immelt, also sits on a Trump business advisory board, came out against the policy.

"We have many employees from the named countries and we do business all over the region," Immelt said. "We stand with them and will work with the US Administration to strive to find the balance between the need for security and the movement of law abiding people."

Around 30 percent of workers in Boston, a university-rich northeastern city with a large number of biotechnology companies, are immigrants, according to a 2015 report by the Boston Planning & Development Agency.

Last week, Iraq signed a billion-dollar deal with GE for the construction of two power plants. But the Iraqi government has criticized being targeted by the ban, and parliament urged the government to retaliate against Americans entering the country if Washington refuses reconsider.

GM and Boeing did not respond to AFP requests for comment on the travel ban. Trump has criticized GM for building cars in Mexico, while Boeing has come under fire with the Republican for high costs of the Air Force One presidential plain.

ExxonMobil, whose former chief executive is in line to be Trump's secretary of state, also did not respond to requests for comment. ExxonMobil has projects in Yemen, one of the seven countries affected by the ban.

But Ford, which also has sparred with Trump over its Mexican presence, criticized the immigration policy.

"Respect for all people is a core value of Ford Motor Company, and we are proud of the rich diversity of our company here at home and around the world," the automaker said. "That is why we do not support this policy or any other that goes against our values as a company."

The US Chamber of Commerce said the policy is creating confusion for companies with employees who are legal residents or dual nationals.

A Chamber spokesperson told AFP "we hope the administration can quickly clarify how these will be handled."