Apple has joined 96 other companies in filing a legal brief opposing President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Other technology companies named in the amicus brief include Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Snap, Uber, Twitter, and Intel, with consumer goods companies like Levi Strauss and Chobani also named in the brief. Amazon wasn't listed, with the company's CEO Jeff Bezos already backing the original lawsuit brought by Washington state's attorney general that brought a temporary halt to the immigration ban on Friday.
The brief was filed late Sunday in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, highlighting the importance of immigrants to the economy and for society as a whole, and arguing the unlawfulness of the ban. According to the report, the filing of the brief was originally planned later this week, but the companies involved accelerated efforts over the weekend following other legal challenges to the order.
"The Order represents a significant departure from the principles of fairness and predictability that have governed the immigration system of the United States for more than fifty years," the brief stated. "Immigrants or their children founded more than 200 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list."
"Immigrants make many of the Nation's greatest discoveries, and create some of the country's most innovative and iconic companies. America has long recognized the importance of protecting ourselves against those who would do us harm. But it has done so while maintaining our fundamental commitment to welcoming immigrants — through increased background checks and other controls on people seeking to enter our country."
The brief comes in support of a lawsuit from Minnesota and Washington states, brought against Trump's controversial executive order temporarily barring citizens of the predominantly Muslim-countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, from entering the U.S.
"Of course, the federal government can and should implement targeted, appropriate adjustments to the nation's immigration system to enhance the Nation's security," the filing continued. "But a broad, open-ended ban - together with an indication that the ban could be expanded to other countries without notice - does not fit the goal of making the country more secure. Instead, it will undermine American interests."
The filing went on to criticize the Trump administration's handling of the travel ban, claiming that it sows confusion and threatens companies' ability to attract skilled workers in the long run.
Last week, Tim Cook said that Apple was considering its legal options as a way to pressure the Trump administration into rescinding the executive order. Reports later emerged that Apple was involved in collaborative efforts with other tech companies to draft a letter opposing Trump's order, but those discussions rapidly developed into the amicus filing, after Washington state's lawsuit on Friday. The amicus is currently being heard in the ninth circuit court of appeals, a federal court in San Francisco.
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