A global backlash against US President Donald Trump's immigration curbs gathered strength on Sunday as several countries including long-standing American allies criticised the measures as discriminatory and divisive.
Governments from London and Berlin to Jakarta and Tehran spoke out against Trump's order to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily ban travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. He said the move would help protect Americans from terrorism.
In Germany – which has taken in large numbers of people fleeing the Syrian civil war – Chancellor Angela Merkel said the global fight against terrorism was no excuse for the measures and “does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion”, her spokesman said.
She expressed her concerns to Trump during a phone call and reminded him that the Geneva Conventions require the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds, the spokesman added.
Merkel’s sentiments were echoed in Paris and London; “Terrorism knows no nationality. Discrimination is no response,” said French Foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, while his British counterpart Boris Johnson tweeted: “Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality.”
Along with Syria, the US ban of at least 90 days affects travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, including those with dual nationality that includes one of those countries.
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said "open society, plural identity, no discrimination" were the "pillars of Europe", while the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian governments also registered their opposition.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country welcomed those fleeing war and persecution, even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back US-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Silicon Valley Condemns Trump’s Order
Silicon Valley's top executives, including executives from Microsoft, Google, Apple, Netflix, Tesla, Facebook, Uber and other top American companies also slammed Trump's immigration order.
Condemning the move, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, in a post on LinkedIn, said “As an immigrant and as a CEO, I’ve both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world. We will continue to advocate on this important topic.”
Microsoft President Brad Smith said as many as 76 Microsoft employees are affected by this new executive order.
"We appreciate that immigration issues are important to a great many people across Microsoft at a principled and even personal level, regardless of whether they personally are immigrants. Satya has spoken of this importance on many occasions, not just to Microsoft but to himself personally. He has done so publicly as well as in the private meetings that he and I have attended with government leaders," Smith said.
"As a company, Microsoft believes in a strong and balanced high-skilled immigration system," he said.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai also criticised Trump's controversial immigration order saying it will create "barriers" to bringing great talent to the US. The Internet search giant also ordered its travelling staff to return to America.
“It is painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues. We’re upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US,” Pichai said.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was one of the first to address the ban publicly.
“We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources...,” he wrote on Facebook.
Zuckerberg called for keeping doors open to refugees and those who need help. "That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today," he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)