Trump Travel Ban: Protests & Business Community Reactions

Protests broke out at major airports in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Washington, D.C., among others, over the weekend after President Donald Trump signed an immigration ban late Friday afternoon that restricted citizens of seven countries from entering the U.S. The executive ordered banned citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days so the Department of Homeland Security may review the effectiveness of visa information requirements for each country. The order also suspended all refugees from around the world from entering the U.S. for 120 days; it specifically suspended Syrian refugees indefinitely.

Reports vary regarding how many travelers were detained at U.S. airports as of Monday morning. The New York Times reported that 109 individuals were detained in the first 24 hours. By Monday, the White House had reported that 392 green card holders had been admitted. These numbers do not include individuals prevented from boarding flights bound for the U.S. from foreign airports.

The uneven implementation of the executive order at airport checkpoints and the evolving messaging throughout the weekend caused confusion about which travelers should be affected. The language of the action itself includes "immigrant and nonimmigrant" travelers, meaning legal residents (green card holders) and those traveling on visas. On Saturday, a White House official said that the ban would include green card holders and that Homeland Security would consider entry on a case-by-case basis.  On Sunday, the administration seemed to back off that aggressive stance after judges in New York, Massachusetts and Virginia blocked certain aspects of the order and temporarily stayed deportation for individuals with permanent U.S. resident status or valid visas, including refugees. Reince Priebus told NBC's Chuck Todd in an interview on Sunday that "as far as green card holders, moving forward, it doesn't affect them." The status of refugees with visas, however, is not clear. The New York district court ruling stopped short of allowing them entry into the country.

Later Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly underscored that unless there was information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, legal resident status would be a "dispositive factor in our case-by-case determination." In lay terms, citizens of the seven countries who hold permanent U.S. green cards will be allowed to re-enter the U.S. It is not clear, however, what type of additional screening they may now face.

Businesses React

Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Starbucks and others have reacted to the travel ban, largely condemning the action as contrary to recruitment of best-in-class employees but also grappling with the practical matters now facing workers who are traveling or stationed abroad or who need to travel.

On social media, Google CEO Sundar Pichai circulated an internal memo that called all of the approximately 100 potentially affected staff back to the United States. Microsoft reportedly is providing legal assistance to affected employees.

Amazon's HR department issued a memo, subsequently provided to the The Verge, advising potentially affected workers who are in the U.S., either residing permanently or working in the country, to refrain from personal or business travel. For those employees with work visas in the U.S. but currently traveling outside the States, Amazon is working on "contingency plans" until the restrictions are lifted. Amazon advised employees in other countries but with citizenship or dual citizenship in any of the listed countries to cancel any plans for personal or business travel to the States.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick circulated an internal memo on social media that the company would provide pro bono compensation for three months for the "dozen or so" Uber employees traveling abroad and unable to return to the U.S. for the duration of the initial ban. He also said he would support diversity in his role as a member of President Trump's economic advisory board. Nonetheless, a consumer protest broke out against Uber after the ridesharing service eliminated surge pricing to John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday night at the same time as a New York City taxi strike that was in support of protests at the airport. Many consumers saw the move as an attempt to profit off the protests and responded with a #deleteuber meme that spread across Twitter.

Sharing Economy Suppliers Reach Out

Airbnb, Lyft and Uber have reached out to assist travelers stranded by Trump's ban. Airbnb has offered free lodging to travelers unable to get to their final U.S. destinations. Lyft has pledged a $1 million donation to the American Civil Liberties Union, which successfully argued the case against the executive order and won the first injunction against it from the federal court in Brooklyn. Lyft co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green emailed customers early Sunday morning, announcing their decision to donate the money to help "defend our constitution." Also on Sunday, Uber's Kalanick backed up his letter from Saturday by pledging to create a "$3 million legal defenses fund to help drivers with immigration and translation services," according to a social media post.