Nearly 900 full-time Google employees have publicly demanded more transparency from company executives regarding the tech giant’s involvement with federal immigration enforcement, raising concerns over the ethical use of its technology.
In an open letter published Friday, employees urged Google to clarify how its cloud services and other technologies are being used by agencies including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
The letter follows a similar appeal two weeks ago from hundreds of workers at companies including Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, calling for a halt to corporate support for federal immigration operations.
In recent months, US immigration enforcement efforts have intensified, with armed ICE and CBP agents conducting raids in multiple cities. These operations have led to the deaths of two US citizens observing federal actions, fueling criticism of the programme’s aggressive approach.
Alex, a Google employee of seven years who helped lead the initiative, said he had once been proud to work for a company he believed had a moral compass. “I was proud to be working at a company with a moral compass. I’m not proud anymore,” he said. He added that it is “abhorrent” to know his work could be supporting federal agents in DHS, ICE, and CBP or helping remove apps deemed “threatening” to federal authorities.
Another employee, who identified herself as S, said she would not have joined Google had she known of the company’s involvement with federal agencies. “This is not the company I signed up to work for – I would have never interviewed to work for a military contractor,” she said.
The open letter demands that Google withdraw its technology from work with DHS, ICE, and CBP, provide protections for employees affected by immigration enforcement, and hold a company-wide meeting to address staff concerns.
Google’s work with federal agencies is not limited to immigration enforcement. The company has partnerships with Lockheed Martin to deploy its Gemini AI models in unspecified products and services, and collaborates with Palantir, a US firm providing technology and operating systems used by all six branches of the military as well as DHS, ICE, and CBP.
Employees say they are speaking out because leadership, including Chief Executive Sundar Pichai, has not sufficiently addressed the extent of Google’s federal government work. In 2018, Google abandoned a controversial Pentagon contract, known as Project Maven, after employee pushback, but workers say current ties to immigration enforcement echo similar ethical concerns.
In October, Google removed several apps from its store that allowed users to report ICE agents’ locations, a move also taken by Apple, adding to employee unease over the company’s involvement in enforcement actions.
A Google spokesperson declined to comment on the open letter.
