Tech Workers Urge CEOs to Speak Out Against ICE After Killing of Alex Pretti

More than 450 employees from major technology companies, including Google, Meta, OpenAI, Amazon, and Salesforce, have signed an open letter urging their chief executives to directly contact the White House and demand that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) withdraw from American cities.

“For months now, Trump has sent federal agents into our cities to criminalize us, our neighbors, friends, colleagues, and family members,” the letter, published by the group IceOut.Tech, states. “From Minneapolis to Los Angeles to Chicago, we have watched armed, masked agents carry out reckless violence, kidnapping, terror, and cruelty with no clear end.”

Minneapolis has emerged as the epicentre of an aggressive federal immigration operation, with tactics so extensive that critics have described the situation as resembling a military occupation. The operation has included repeated clashes between federal agents and community members protesting the raids. During these confrontations, law enforcement has deployed crowd-control measures such as pepper spray, tear gas, rubber bullets, and sound cannons, often indiscriminately.

“This cannot continue, and we know the tech industry has leverage,” the letter continues. “When Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco in October, tech leaders contacted the White House. It worked — Trump backed down.”

The organizing effort gained momentum after ICE agents fatally shot U.S. citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis three weeks ago. It expanded further over the weekend following the killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital, who was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents.

The organizers behind the letter chose not to identify themselves, and many signatories remained anonymous, citing fears of professional retaliation. TechCrunch said it has contacted the group for additional details.

Several prominent figures in the tech industry have publicly criticized federal actions in Minneapolis. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman said ICE’s conduct is “terrible for the people.” At the same time, Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla described current enforcement as “macho ICE vigilantes running amuck empowered by a conscience-less administration.” Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean urged people “regardless of political affiliation” to denounce the escalating violence. OpenAI’s head of global business, James Dyett, criticized the lack of response from industry leaders, writing on X that “there is far more outrage from tech leaders over a wealth tax than masked ICE agents terrorizing communities.”

I agree with @EthanChoi7 . Macho ICE vigilantes running amuck empowered by a conscious-less administration. The video was sickening to watch and the storytelling without facts or with invented fictitious facts by authorities almost unimaginable in a civilized society. ICE… https://t.co/ASvjZQB0Gg — Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) January 26, 2026

Signal president Meredith Whittaker said masked agents are “executing people in the streets while powerful leaders openly lie to cover for them,” adding that industry leaders who claim to value freedom should “find the courage to stand up.” Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei also addressed the situation Monday, emphasizing the importance of “preserving democratic values and rights at home,” particularly in light of “the horror we’re seeing in Minnesota.”

Despite these statements, many of the most influential figures in the technology sector have remained largely silent. Several have also made visible efforts to align themselves with President Trump. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg all attended Trump’s inauguration and contributed to the inauguration fund either personally or through their companies. None has publicly criticized the escalation of ICE raids.

OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna, are also significant donors to political causes and candidates linked to President Trump and have not spoken out publicly. Elon Musk, known for his hardline stance on immigration, has actively supported ICE operations and has referred to protesters as “pure evil.”

Anti-ICE protestors protecting convicted child molesters is pure evil https://t.co/InzzGoOBPE — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 19, 2026

The letter falsely calls on technology companies to terminate all contracts with ICE, potentially a costly demand, as several major firms maintain agreements with the agency. Palantir remains one of ICE’s most significant technology partners and was awarded a $30 million contract last year to develop an AI-driven surveillance platform known as ImmigrationOS. Facial recognition company Clearview AI also signed an agreement last year to provide ICE with facial-matching technology. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Oracle supply cloud infrastructure and IT services to both the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.

TechAmerica.ai said it has reached out to the companies for comment.