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After a year of relative quiet and a visible rightward shift among tech executives, the Silicon Valley workforce is beginning to mobilize once more. The catalyst for this renewed activism is the recent killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, events that have reignited internal friction between Big Tech’s "rank and file" and a leadership class that has spent months cozying up to the Trump administration.
A Growing Movement
A protest letter, which initially garnered 200 signatures following the death of Renee Good, has surged to over 450 signatories since the killing of Alex Pretti. The list includes employees from industry giants such as:
Google
Amazon
TikTok
The letter urges CEOs to leverage their unique influence over President Trump, specifically calling for the removal of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) from U.S. cities and the termination of tech contracts that support the agency’s operations.
The "Kneeling" of Leadership
The current climate marks a sharp contrast to Trump’s first term, when leaders like Google’s Sergey Brin actively joined public protests. Under the current administration, many executives—disenchanted by the Biden era's regulatory stance—have pivoted toward Trump.
Mike Brock, author of Notes from the Circus, describes a "managerial class" that understood a "kneeling" was required upon Trump’s victory. This shift created a culture of fear among workers. Pete Warden, a former Google engineer and founder of Moonshine AI, notes that while many employees remained progressive, they lacked the "safety or security" to speak out until now.
Tech’s Role in Enforcement
The stakes are high because tech tools are now foundational to the administration's goals, particularly through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Current collaborations include:
AWS: Provides data storage for ICE.
Google & Apple: Recently removed apps that alerted users to ICE presence.
AI/Biometrics: ICE utilizes facial recognition and "Big Data" for surveillance and investigations.
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The Turning Point
The tide began to turn when video footage of the Minneapolis deaths appeared to contradict official federal accounts. This prompted rare public condemnation from high-level tech figures:
Reid Hoffman called for Americans to stand against ICE.
Jeff Dean (Google DeepMind) labeled the killing of Pretti "absolutely shameful."
Yann LeCun described those involved as "murderers."
Warden believes these statements from leadership have provided the necessary "cover" for employees to begin organizing again without the immediate fear of being fired.
"By speaking out, I can potentially be seen as a problematic founder... but compared to the risks people in Minneapolis are taking, that seems pretty small." — Pete Warden
The White House has remained defiant, with spokeswoman Abigail Jackson dismissing critics of ICE as "doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens." Despite this, the growing list of signatories suggests that the Silicon Valley "progressive bloc" is stirring back to life.