Tech giant Microsoft has formally requested president Donald Trump for an exception to the Muslim ban on travel into the U.S. from seven nations, explaining that visa-holding students and workers who are characterized for being responsible known travelers with pressing needs, should be allowed to re-enter to the country under the sponsorship of American companies. Naturally, this represents another chapter of the tech companies´ clash with Trump after his highly-controversial decision of banning immigrants from Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Libya and Sudan.
The Formal Request Was Made Through An Open Letter
Apparently, this executive order gave permission to the secretaries of state and homeland security to authorize exceptions to issue visas on a case-by-case basis, with the tech giant Microsoft filing the request to the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. This request was made through an open letter wrote by president and chief legal officer Brad Smith, who said that Microsoft´s move shouldn't be considered a fix for the executive order, but an immediate way to help foreign employees who have been stranded outside the nation as well as the people who cannot leave America for fear they can´t enter again.
Many Microsoft´s Employees Are Affected By The Muslim Ban
Also, Microsoft explained that the company has 76 employees with 41 dependents that are directly affected by the Muslim ban, some of which have been unable to visit sick relatives abroad, and stranded apart from their children. In the tech giant´s request, family members of the sponsored workers could take advantage of the exception, including students in good standing with accredited academies.
One of the most crucial sections of the letter is the one in which Smith said that the immigrations authorities already have a wide range of personal information about persons in the visa categories that Microsoft proposed, since these individuals fill important roles in the company, and are deeply valued contributors to the innovation. Just like many other major tech companies, Microsoft has to deal with many employees affected by the Muslim ban, which s something that is not known how is going to end.
