{"id":15794,"date":"2017-02-11T12:53:54","date_gmt":"2017-02-11T20:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=15794"},"modified":"2017-02-11T12:54:21","modified_gmt":"2017-02-11T20:54:21","slug":"travel-ban-silicon-valley-tech-giants-cry-foul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/travel-ban-silicon-valley-tech-giants-cry-foul\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel Ban: Silicon Valley Tech Giants Cry Foul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hattie Burke-foreuic holds up a sign on her father’s shoulders during a protest at San Francisco International Airport, Jan. 29. (Josh Edelson\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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Nearly 100 of America\u2019s top tech companies including Apple, Google and Facebook have joined the court battle against President Donald Trump\u2019s controversial immigration restrictions, warning the move would hurt their businesses and violate both immigration law and the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n

An irked President Donald Trump hit out at the judge who blocked his controversial travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations, saying Americans should blame the judge and the courts \u201cif something happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lady Gaga\u2019s rendition of \u201cThis Land is Your Land\u201d was an attempt of sorts though some of the advertisements that premiered on national TV during the Super Bowl shared pro-immigrant sentiments after the recent travel ban announced by President Trump. \u2013 @Siliconeer #Siliconeer #Trump #TravelBan #SiliconValley #Tech #Apple #Facebook #Google #Microsoft #Levis #Chobani #Twitter #Uber #Airbnb #Intel #Snap #Snapchat #DemocraticParty #Pence #Superbowl #Superbowl51 #LadyGaga<\/p>\n

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In a filing to a federal appeals court, Feb. 5, the companies argued that Trump\u2019s temporary ban on all visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries would hurt their businesses and violate both immigration law and the United States Constitution.<\/p>\n

A lower court temporarily halted crucial parts of the ban, Feb. 3, but the Trump administration has said it would fight to have them reinstated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tremendous impact of immigrants on America and on American business is not happenstance,\u201d the companies said in a friend-of-the-court filing.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who choose to leave everything that is familiar and journey to an unknown land to make a new life necessarily are endowed with drive, creativity, determination and just plain guts,\u201d The New York Times<\/i> quoted the filing as saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe energy they bring to America,\u201d it said, \u201cis a key reason why the American economy has been the greatest engine of prosperity and innovation in history.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of filing this report, the issue is set to be considered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

In addition to Apple, Facebook and Google, major technology names that signed the brief included Microsoft, Uber, Twitter, Airbnb, Intel and Snap, the parent of Snapchat.<\/p>\n

A few names from outside the technology field, like Levi Strauss and Chobani, a yogurt company, also signed the brief. Separately, a group of prominent Democrats also protested the ban in a court filing.<\/p>\n

It is not the first legal move by tech firms over Trump\u2019s ban. Amazon and Expedia filed motions recently in the Washington attorney general\u2019s lawsuit. They argued the immigration order will hurt their employees and their businesses.<\/p>\n

An estimated 37 percent of the workforce in Silicon Valley is foreign born, according to a report by the think tank Joint Venture.<\/p>\n

The temporary travel ban which affects seven Muslim-majority countries that include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been a highly controversial move by the new Republican President causing widespread protests around the world.<\/p>\n

The filing is likely to fray already tense relations between Trump and the technology industry. Its most prominent figures largely backed Trump\u2019s Democratic Party rival, Hillary Clinton, in last year\u2019s election campaign.<\/p>\n

\u2013 PTI<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Thenmozhi Sonnd shouts along with protesters at San Francisco International Airport, Jan. 29. (Josh Edelson\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018If Something Happens Blame\u2019 the Judge: Trump to Americans<\/b><\/p>\n

The President\u2019s ire was aimed at San Francisco District Judge James Robart, who put a nationwide hold on Trump\u2019s executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days, all refugees for 120 days and indefinitely halts refugees from Syria.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system.<\/p>\n

People pouring in. Bad!\u201d Trump tweeted, not just attacking Judge Robart\u2019s decision but going after him who may yet make more decisions on the matter.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Trump said that he has asked the Department of Homeland Security to do a very \u201ccareful\u201d check of those entering the country after the court order.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have instructed Homeland Security to check people coming into our country VERY CAREFULLY. The courts are making the job very difficult!\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s criticism comes after the San Francisco-based 9th<\/sup> US Circuit Court of Appeals, in a brief order, denied the administration\u2019s request to set aside Robart\u2019s ruling that put a temporary hold on the ban.<\/p>\n

Trump says the 90-day travel ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and a 120-day bar on all refugees, are necessary to protect the United States from Islamist militants.<\/p>\n

The travel restrictions have drawn protests in the U.S., provoked criticism from U.S. allies and created chaos for thousands of people who have, in some cases, spent years seeking asylum.<\/p>\n

In his ruling, Robart questioned the use of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States as a justification for the ban, saying no attacks had been carried out on U.S. soil by individuals from the seven affected countries since then.<\/p>\n

For Trump\u2019s order to be constitutional, Judge Robart said, it had to be \u201cbased in fact, as opposed to fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a series of tweets Feb. 4, President Trump had attacked the opinion of this \u201cso-called judge\u201d as \u201cridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vice President Mike Pence called the ruling a \u201cwrong decision\u201d and vowed the Trump administration will take \u201call legal means\u201d to protect the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe the judge made the wrong decision, the Boston court made the right decision. We\u2019re going to continue to use all legal means at our disposal to stay that order and move forward to take the steps necessary to protect our country,\u201d Pence told Fox News.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, CNN, quoting people close to the White House said that Trump\u2019s attacks will be a problem\u2014particularly as his administration shepherds his Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch toward confirmation.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one was happy the President attacked the judge,\u201d one official said.<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was not the best idea to attack judges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s best not to single out judges for criticism. We all get disappointed from time to time,\u201d he said, before Trump\u2019s latest tweet.<\/p>\n

The Feb. 3 ruling has also seen visa holders from the affected nations scramble to get flights to the U.S., fearing they have a slim window to enter.<\/p>\n

The State Department has been reversing visa cancellations and U.S. homeland security employees have been told by their department to comply with the ruling.<\/p>\n

The ban caused confusion at U.S. and foreign airports when it came into force.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Lalit K. Jha\/PTI<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Singer Lady Gaga performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl LI at NGR Stadium in Houston, Texas, Feb. 5. (Timothy A. Clary\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lady Gaga Delivers Explosive Performance at Super Bowl<\/b><\/p>\n

With her high-flying entrance on stage from the rooftop of Houston\u2019s NRG stadium, Pop star Lady Gaga\u2019s 13-minute Halftime performance at the Super Bowl, Feb. 6, was mic-dropping.<\/p>\n

Donning an embellished silver body suit, the 30-year-old star kicked off the show with a moving rendition of \u201cThis Land Is Your Land\u201d and \u201cGod Bless America\u201d before dropping into the arena to the synth strings of her hit track \u201cPoker Face.\u201d<\/p>\n

The diva momentarily stole the attention from the Patriots and Falcons when she belted her 2008 track \u201cJust Dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gaga glided from microphone to keytar to piano throughout her performance. She even gave a shout-out to her parents in the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow ya doin\u2019 tonight, Texas, America, world. We\u2019re gonna make you feel good,\u201d Gaga screamed.<\/p>\n

The singer ended the show by crooning her greatest hit of all time \u201cBad Romance.\u201d She dropped her mic and caught a football mid-air as she jumped from the stage and fireworks signaled the end of halftime.<\/p>\n

Gaga\u2019s rendition of \u201cThis Land is Your Land\u201d was an attempt of sorts though some of the advertisements that premiered on national TV during the Super Bowl shared pro-immigrant sentiments after the recent travel ban announced by President Trump.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Seema Hakhu Kachru\/PTI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hattie Burke-foreuic holds up a sign on her father’s shoulders during a protest at San Francisco International Airport, Jan. 29. (Josh Edelson\/AFP\/Getty Images) Nearly 100 of America\u2019s top tech companies including Apple, Google and Facebook have joined the court battle against President Donald Trump\u2019s controversial immigration restrictions, warning the move would hurt their businesses and…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[275,4,5],"tags":[373,755,682,610,1551,645,1263,2925,2923,2928,2931,2922,2929,56,147,2926,2927,2930,137,2921,2924],"class_list":["post-15794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-cover-story","category-current-affairs","tag-twitter","tag-apple","tag-facebook","tag-google","tag-intel","tag-microsoft","tag-trump","tag-airbnb","tag-chobani","tag-democratic-party","tag-lady-gaga","tag-levis","tag-pence","tag-silicon-valley","tag-siliconeer","tag-snap","tag-snapchat","tag-super-bowl-51","tag-tech","tag-travel-ban","tag-uber"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}