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Google set up a $4 million emergency fund to fight Trump's immigration ban

Google has created a $4 million emergency immigration fund to help employees affected by President Trump's new immigration policy, USA Today reports.

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The search-engine giant is pledging $2 million of its own money, while the remaining $2 million is expected to be made up in donations from Googlers.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order for "extreme vetting" that halted the US refugee program and blocked citizens of a number of Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for at least 90 days — even people who already have visas and legal permits to live in the United States. The countries affected are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

Sundar Pichai
Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Flickr/Maurizio Pesce

"We're concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," Google said in a statement seen by USA Today. "We'll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere."

The fund — reported to be Google's largest crisis campaign ever — will be awarded to American Civil Liberties Union, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, International Rescue Committee and UNHCR.

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The Google campaign was reportedly disclosed in a message sent by Google CEO Sundar Pichai. It was then confirmed by a Google spokeswoman late Sunday.

The announcement of the Google crisis fund came a day after Pichai slammed the effects of the directive on Google staff.

"We're upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," he wrote.

"It's painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues."

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The executive order affects at least 187 Google employees, according to Pichai.

Separately, Uber is creating a $3 million legal defence fund to help drivers on its platform with immigration issues.

On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.

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