Employees at Salesforce are circulating an open letter calling on CEO Marc Benioff to take a firm stance against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), specifically requesting that he denounce recent agency actions and prohibit the use of Salesforce software by ICE personnel. The letter demands Benioff leverage his influence to push for federal legislation reforming the agency, citing the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis as evidence of a broken system.
The internal pushback follows remarks made by Benioff during Salesforce’s annual leadership kickoff, where he reportedly joked about ICE agents monitoring attendees. This comment sparked immediate criticism from employees, who felt it was insensitive given the agency’s controversial enforcement policies. Some employees noted the irony given Benioff’s past support for politicians across the political spectrum, including President Trump.
The letter details concerns that Salesforce has actively pitched its AI technology to ICE to accelerate agent hiring and vet tip-line reports, claiming this supports a mass deportation agenda impacting tens of thousands, many with no criminal records. Employees argue this contradicts Salesforce’s stated commitment to ethical technology use. They point to Benioff’s past success in influencing policy — including an alleged intervention with President Trump over an ICE deployment to San Francisco — and urge him to use this leverage to publicly condemn ICE’s actions and establish clear restrictions on how Salesforce products are used.
Benioff has a history of weighing in on political matters, from backing Hillary Clinton in 2016 to supporting and later reversing his stance on deploying the National Guard to San Francisco. His recent approach under the Trump administration is more ambiguous, with the CEO joking about leveraging a Time magazine cover for publicity.
The broader context is critical: Tech companies are increasingly under pressure to align their business practices with ethical concerns, especially regarding law enforcement and immigration. Salesforce’s position matters because it has significant contracts with government agencies, and its technology plays a role in tracking and managing individuals subject to immigration enforcement.
The issue raises questions about corporate responsibility, the power of tech leaders to influence policy, and the limits of neutrality when dealing with controversial government actions. The employees’ letter represents a growing trend of internal dissent within tech firms as workers demand greater accountability from their leadership.
Ultimately, this situation highlights the complex relationship between tech companies, government contracts, and ethical obligations in an era of heightened political scrutiny.
