USA: Columbia University launches tool to track Trump Administration’s human rights record including regulation of business impacts on rights

Author: Columbia University Law School

...The tracker will be an easy to use resource for those seeking to understand the range of executive actions from a human rights perspective. It includes executive actions on the Global Gag rule, banning refugees and immigrants from certain Muslim-majority countries, sanctuary cities, and more. The tracker records human rights already violated, including the right to non-discrimination, as well as many rights undermined or at risk, including women’s rights, indigenous rights, and the rights to education, family life, privacy, and life...The tool was designed to aid journalists, civil society organizations, and the general public in understanding how the new executive is impacting human rights in the United States and around the world. The Columbia human rights organizations will continue to regularly update the resource...

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Fortune 100 companies respond to Trump's travel ban

Author: Tory Newmyer, David Morris, Madeline Farber & Lucinda Shen, Fortune (USA)

“23 Huge Companies That Have Responded to President Trump’s Immigration Ban”, 31 January 2017

When President Donald Trump signed an executive order to bar immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., the ban promised to have far-reaching consequences for businesses and employees. After all, several of the country's largest businesses were made possible by immigrants—including Apple, Amazon, Google, and Yahoo. In the aftermath of the ban, we contacted the majority of the Fortune 100 for comment. Below are the responses to the ban we gathered from some of the country's largest global employers, in addition to public comments made by the companies. This list will be updated as more companies respond to requests…

[Includes responses from 21st Century Fox, Amazon, American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Cisco Systems, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, FedEx, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, J.P. Morgan, Merck, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Wells Fargo]

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• Related companies: 21st Century Fox Alphabet Amazon.com American Express Apple Bank of America Cisco Systems Citigroup Coca-Cola FedEx Ford General Electric General Motors Goldman Sachs Google (part of Alphabet) Hewlett Packard Enterprise IBM J.P. Morgan (part of JPMorgan Chase) JPMorgan Chase Merck Microsoft Morgan Stanley Nike Procter & Gamble Wells Fargo

US meat industry increasingly employees refugees, who are exposed to harmful working conditions - industry speaks out against Trump's travel ban

Author: Tom Philpott, Mother Jones

Original title: "Refugees Make Your Dinner. Literally. Where else are you going to find people desperate enough to work in a modern slaughterhouse?"

Of all the outrage generated by President Donald Trump's ban on refugees entering the country, the most surprising critic might be the US meat industry.

Turns out, people fleeing desperate conditions in violence-ravaged countries have emerged as a key labor source for the nation's vast and dangerous slaughterhouses. Because meat-packing is such a high-turnover occupation, precise numbers on the makeup of its labor pool are hard to come by. The Journal reports that about a third of meat-packing workers are foreign-born, and that industry has increasingly turned to refugee populations to fill jobs. 

The head of the industry's main trade association, the North American Meat Institute, put it delicately in a statement to The Wall Street Journal: "As the administration pursues changes to the nation's refugee policies, we hope it will give careful consideration to the ramifications policy changes like these can have on our businesses and on foreign born workers who are eager to build new lives in America through the jobs our companies can offer."...

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

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

...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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USA: Amazon, Expedia & Microsoft join lawsuit against President Trump's travel ban

Author: Ashley Carman, The Verge (USA)

"Microsoft joins Amazon in lawsuit over Trump's immigration ban", 30 Jan 2017

...Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit today against Trump’s order, which bars legal immigrants and refugees from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US and bans Syrian refugees indefinitely.  Now, at least three tech companies — Microsoft, Amazon, and Expedia — are joining that legal fight...Both Amazon and Expedia are also preparing statements that demonstrate the order’s negative impact on their business.  In an email to employees, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wrote that the company’s legal team "has prepared a declaration of support for the Washington State Attorney General who will be filing suit against the order." They are considering other legal options, as well. Expedia hasn’t publicly released its statement but Ferguson cited the company’s help in a press release...The lawsuit will attempt to prove the immigration ban is unconstitutional...Other tech company executives, ranging from Tesla CEO Elon Musk to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, have spoken out against the order.  Yet only Amazon, Microsoft, and Expedia — all of which are based in the Seattle area in Washington — are in a position to support this particular legal challenge to the immigration ban, at least until more lawsuits begin popping up around the country.

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USA: Tech companies' CEOs take lead in denouncing Trump's immigration orders, other sectors largely stay silent

Author: Devika Krishna Kumar & Ross Kerber, Reuters (UK)

"RPT-Trump travel ban stirs faint corporate outcry beyond Silicon Valley", 30 Jan 2017

Most U.S. corporate bosses have stayed silent on...Trump's immigration curbs...While the leaders of Apple Inc, Google  and Facebook Inc emailed their staff to denounce the suspension of the U.S. refugee program...many...counterparts in other industries...declined [to] comment...The difference in response shows the pressure...corporate America faces to avoid tussling publicly with the new administration...Boeing [and] General Motors...declined to comment... Wall Street...is hoping the new administration will ease...regulations introduced [during] 2007-08 financial crisis...[B]anking, healthcare and auto manufacturing "...do not want to do anything that would offend the new emperor," said Cornelius Hurley...of Boston [University]...Goldman Sachs... Citigroup...Bank of America...and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.... Nike...said the company did not support the executive order...Allergan Plc [said]: "Oppose any policy that puts limitations on our ability to attract the best & diverse talent." Exxon Mobil...declined to comment. As the idea of corporate social responsibility has taken root, so companies have increasingly championed...gay rights, diverse workplaces and a global view. Many in corporate America are...trying to work out how to deal with a new government that...has an anti-globalization platform...One of the...ways...to communicate with Trump about the immigration order will be the first meeting of his advisory panel...next week. Of the 19 [business] leaders...only...Tesla Motors Inc...SpaceX...and Uber Technologies Inc, have spoken out against...immigration curbs...Stephen Schwarzman...chief of Blackstone Group..., whom Trump tasked to set up and chair the panel, declined to comment [refers to General Electric Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Starbucks, Wells Fargo & Co].

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Airbnb offers free housing to refugees & anyone impacted by President Trump's immigration ban

Author: Leigh Gallagher, Fortune (US)

"President Trump Wants to Keep Them Out. Airbnb Is Inviting Them In", 30 Jan 2017

...“Not allowing countries or refugees into America is not right, and we must stand with those who are affected,” Chesky tweeted Saturday night, before announcing that [Airbnb] would provide free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the U.S. by the order...Chesky also sent an all-hands email to employees Saturday night: “This is a policy that I profoundly disagree with and it is a direct obstacle to our mission at Airbnb...We believe that you should be able to travel to and live in any community around the world...If we want this to be more than just something we put on a plaque, we have to take action."...Chesky said the company had reached out to employees who were impacted and those who work in the U.S. on visas or green cards to say they had the “unwavering support of everyone at this company.” The company has been active in refugee relief efforts since 2015...offering free housing to relief workers in Greece, Serbia and Macedonia...added a donation tool to its website where members of its platform could contribute...piloting other programs, like a “livelihood” program in Jordan that helps refugees living in camps earn income by giving tours and providing other “local experiences” to travelers visiting Jordan...

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USA: In response to Trump’s immigration ban, Starbucks CEO announces company will hire 10,000 refugees worldwide

Author: Phil Wahba, Fortune

"Starbucks Has a Response to President Trump's Immigration Ban: Hire 10,000 Refugees", 29 Jan 2017

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sought Sunday to reassure employees anguished about President Donald Trump's immigration ban... "I write to you today with deep concern, a heavy heart and a resolute promise," Schultz wrote...to all...employees. "We are living in an unprecedented time, one in which we are witness to the conscience of our country, and the promise of the American Dream, being called into question." Trump's executive order, issued on Friday and later blocked in part by federal judges, prohibits citizens from Muslim-majority [countries] from entering the United States for at least 90 days [and] refugees from Syria indefinitely. Schultz...last year called for more civility in the election campaign... Schultz proclaimed himself "stunned" by Trump's...win. He has rarely shied away from weighing in on political debates, trying to prompt Americans to debate race relations [and] asking gun owners not to bring weapons into Starbucks...Schultz...said the company has been in direct contact with employees affected by the immigration ban. Starbucks will redouble its efforts to hire people fleeing war, violence, persecution and discrimination...and hire 10,000 refugees worldwide in the next five years...The CEO also said Starbucks is reimbursing employees who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

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