Almost 1,000 Google employees have signed an open letter asking the company to sever ties with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) due to the Donald Trump administration. The petition mentions Google contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
It claims that the company's technology is being used to support state violence and repression. The employees want an immediate Q&A session about Google's Homeland Security and military contracts.
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They are also asking for transparency regarding the company's connections and limits on the use of its products for what they describe as state violence and repression.
'Google powering campaign'
"Google is powering this campaign of surveillance, violence, and repression. Cloud is helping to stitch together CBP surveillance systems along the border and nationwide, while also powering Palantir's ImmigrationOS system that ICE uses to track immigrants," the petition read.
The employees also said that Google's generative AI was used by DHS and CBP for workforce support and to improve operational efficiency.
"The Play Store has blocked the most effective ICE tracking apps that help keep our communities safe. YouTube has also been running ICE recruitment and self-deport ads," the letter stated.
"Just in the last month, Keith Porter, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti have been murdered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies ICE and CBP. ICE's detention & deportation machine has killed at least 35 people in detention centers since July 2025," it said further.
Google has not yet released a statement regarding the letter.
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The demands
Saying that they "vehemently oppose to Google's partnerships with DHS, CBP and ICE", the employees put forth the following demands:
Acknowledge the danger and violence that workers face each day: The employees said hat ICE and CBP agents are creating humanitarian emergencies that rival COVID-era conditions. "We need proportional community responses like school shutdowns and mutual aid networks. Just as Google did during the pandemic, we demand leadership acknowledge the danger facing all U.S.-based workers, and to publicly call for urgent government responses to this crisis," they asserted.
Host an emergency Q&A session for workers regarding our DHS, CBP, and military contracts: The employees demanded a US-based, live, and recorded Q&A session / employee town hall with relevant leadership to field top questions from employees, without any AI summarisation or question-collapsing.
Protect all Googlers, from cafeteria workers to data centre employees: "The threat ICE poses to Googlers demands that leadership provide material employee assistance. We demand leadership implement appropriate worker safety measures to meet this moment, such as flexible WFH policies and legal and immigration support, for all workers. This is especially important for those with fewer protections, such as TVCs, onsite staff, and data center workers. ICE agents have already visited our buildings. Our leadership must commit to keeping all Googlers safe," they said.
Disclose ties and declare red lines around use of our products for state violence and repression: The employees demanded transparency and said, "We demand precise clarity about admissible applications of our Cloud and AI technology, and transparency and full disclosure about how DHS agencies like CBP and ICE are abusing our products."
