BIG INTV: Silicon Valley Tech Workers’ Campaign to Get ICE Out of US Cities

Uncanny Valley | WIRED

WIRED

Technology

4.1 • 572 Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

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Summary

In the wake of the shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in the streets of Minneapolis, several prominent tech executives attended a private White House screening of Melania, a documentary being released by Amazon MGM Studios. The timing was not lost on the group of Silicon Valley workers who recently launched ICEout.tech, essentially an open letter to their bosses. The letter, posted following Renee Nicole Good’s killing earlier this month, has now been signed by more than 1,000 tech employees. Those workers, who come from across the spectrum of Big Tech companies and startups, are asking that executives use their clout to demand Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents leave American cities, that they cancel company contracts with the agency, and that they speak publicly about ICE’s violent and deadly tactics. Katie talks to two of the signatories in this week's episode.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	From Wired, this is the big interview. I'm Katie Drummond.
0:07.6	In 2017, when President Trump issued a series of executive orders instituting a travel ban on foreigners from certain countries, largely those with a majority Muslim population, people all over the United States vigorously
0:21.4	protested the policy.
0:23.5	Among them was Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who joined a demonstration at the San Francisco
0:27.4	airport.
0:28.7	At the same time, tech industry leaders, like Apple and Amazon, actively considered legal
0:33.0	action against the administration over bans on visas.
0:36.6	Some argued that the pushback from big tech worked to delay and temper Trump's plans.
0:41.6	How times have changed.
0:43.3	On Saturday, hours after federal agents shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Preddy in the streets of Minneapolis,
0:50.3	tech CEOs like Apple's Tim Cook, AMD's Lisa Sue, and Zoom's Eric Wan,
0:56.0	attended a private White House screening of Melania, a documentary produced by Amazon MGM Studios.
1:02.0	The timing and the stark contrast of those tech leaders' attitudes back then compared to now
1:07.0	was not lost on a group of Silicon Valley workers who'd recently launched iceout.
1:11.6	Tech, essentially an open letter to their bosses.
1:14.6	In the letter, they acknowledged the considerable influence the tech industry has in this moment,
1:19.6	and ask their leaders to use that leverage to demand that ICE leave American cities.
1:24.6	Over a thousand tech employees have now signed on and momentum
1:28.6	continues to grow. When I read the letter, I knew I wanted to hear more from these
1:32.9	workers. Two signatories, Pete Warden and Lisa Kahn, jumped on the phone with me
1:38.1	earlier this week. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm really thrilled that you're able to be here.
1:52.5	It's great to be here. Thank you for having us. Yeah, of course. What a moment. So let me start. You both work in the tech industry you have for a long time. You're among the many, many who've now signed the ICEout letter and joined the ICEout. Tech movement that has now been widely shared and circulated among people in Silicon Valley. Now that movement and the website actually launched earlier this month after the tragic shooting of René Good, obviously a Minneapolis resident.
	...

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