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Article

31 Jan 2017

Author:
Irit Tamir, Advocacy Manager, Oxfam America's Private Sector Department

Blog: "Calling all business executives: Stand up for American values"

...While a few corporate leaders, primarily out of Silicon Valley, noted their concern over the impact of the ban [on legal immigrants and refugees from seven predominantely Muslim countries from entering the USA] on their employees, an overwhelming number of corporate leaders have remained shockingly silent.

President Trump—who campaigned on his business acumen—has convened a group of leading corporate executives in a Strategic and Policy Forum to provide him with advice and counsel. Of the 19 executives who serve in this agenda-setting role, only two have spoken up about the ban (companies have taken varying approaches to criticizing the ban). It has been reported that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is seeking a consensus on changes to the immigration ban among fellow forum members, but the time to speak up is now. And not just about tinkering with the ban to make it less restrictive of green card holders –the whole thing needs to go. The silence from any executive is unconscionable, but from those on the Forum in particular...

When several states sought to pass bills that would limit LGBT rights, Fortune 500 companies led the fight to stand up for human rights. This included Walmart in Arkansas, Disney in Georgia, and PepsiCo and GE in Mississippi, all of whom sit on President Trump’s forum and will have the President’s ear on Friday when he meets with them...

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