Lawmakers chide Google for employing ex-DHS staffer who safeguarded travel restriction

Members of the United States House of Representatives sent out a letter today to Google CEO Sundar Pichai knocking the search giant’s hiring of Miles Taylor, a previous Department of Homeland Security authorities who had actually openly safeguarded President Donald Trump’s travel restriction. 

The letter, dated Nov. 19, was signed by the chairs of 3 House caucuses representing racial minorities: Rep. Joaquin Castro of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Karen Bass of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Rep. Judy Chu of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

The legislators, all Democrats, stated they discovered Google’s hiring of Taylor, who formerly worked as chief of personnel to previous DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, “deeply troubling.” 

“We find it alarming when companies choose to reward and hire individuals that have played active roles in implementing cruel policies that target and hurt the communities we represent and Google is no exception,” the letter checks out. 

The letter comes as Google fights with internal discontent from workers who have actually opposed management when it concerns social concerns. Google employees have actually spoken up versus an expert system agreement the business had with the Pentagon, Google’s operate in China, and management’s handling of sexual attack accusations. 

Reached for remark about the letter, Google indicated remarks made by Karan Bhatia, a vice president for federal government affairs, at an internal city center conference last month and released by The Washington Post. Bhatia stated Taylor’s deal with Google would concentrate on counterterrorism and nationwide security. “That’s the role they will be playing with us, not in the immigration space,” he stated.

Still, the letter from Congress condemns Google’s hiring of Taylor in September. The legislators stated Taylor “oversaw the implementation” of the travel restriction — which disallowed individuals from 7 Muslim-bulk nations from getting in the United States — along with the Trump administration’s policy to different households at the Mexican-American border. 

The legislators likewise indicated previous declarations and actions by Google management knocking the Trump administration’s migration policies. When the travel restriction was very first enacted, in January 2017, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, an immigrant and refugee from Russia, signed up with protestors at San Francisco International Airport. The letter likewise recommendations Pichai’s response on Twitter to households being separated at the border. He called the circumstance “gut-wrenching” and required a “more humane” service. 

“This recent company hire appears to contradict Google’s own moral and ethical values and completely disregards the concerns expressed by many of your employees and customers that value immigrants and human rights,” the letter states.