Tech Firms Reject Second Trump Travel Ban
President Donald Trump's revised ban on travelers from several Muslim countries has prompted a slightly smaller chorus of objections from major American technology firms compared to the furor over the first travel ban.
The revised ban, which is set to take effect on Thursday, is the subject of lawsuits from several states, including Washington and Hawaii. Fifty-eight tech companies filed an amicus brief on Tuesday in support of the Hawaiian suit, claiming that it would hurt their businesses and their employees, The Verge reports.
Among the amici companies are Silicon Valley powerhouses like Airbnb and Lyft, and also smaller startups like Twilio and Audacity. Their filing offers real-world examples of employees who were affected by the first travel ban, including US-based employees who had to cancel trips abroad, and prospective foreign employees who were unable to accept job offers from American tech firms.
"President Trump's new travel ban is no different," the companies wrote. "It will inflict the same substantial and irreparable harm upon US companies and their employees."
Noticeably absent from Tuesday's brief are the big-name companies that were part of the group of 97 that filed a similar amicus brief against the first travel ban in February, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Uber. A few non-tech companies that signed the first brief, including Levi Strauss and yogurt maker Chobani, are also missing from Tuesday's filing.
Judges in Maryland and Hawaii are expected to issue rulings in the cases against the revised travel ban as early as Wednesday, Reuters reports.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.