Multiple Big Tech companies, including Facebook, Microsoft, Spotify, and Google, are backing a lawsuit against ICE.
The companies involved, along with some other household tech names, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, multiple trade associations and more than 200 schools, signed an amicus brief which supported a legal complaint filed by MIT and Harvard against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 9th.
The lawsuit came after ICE declared international students of universities that were moving classes online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic would have to be deported to their home countries. Harvard and MIT complained on the grounds that the government is violating administrative procedure in a way that is “arbitrary and capricious.”
Given the impact this policy would have on both their customers and future employees, the signatories added that the decision would be detrimental to businesses and the economy which, in an already precarious time, the government should have considered.
The brief states that, “without international students, American educational institutions face a sudden loss of critical mass—jeopardizing their ability to maintain their standards of excellence; produce research that helps keep U.S. businesses on the cutting edge of innovation; and provide the training that makes American students a strong talent pool for their future employers”.
According to Protocol, who were the first to report on the brief, a judge is expected to rule on the future of the ICE directive by tomorrow.
