Reactions to President Trump’s executive order placing a three-month ban on entry to the U. S. from seven majority Muslim countries have been rippling out across the Atlantic over the past 48 hours — with figures from the U. K. tech industry adding their voices to a general chorus of dismay .
In comments to TechCrunch, Passion Capital partner Eileen Burbidge expressed her own misgivings about the policy — branding it “unconstitutional, unethical and immoral.” The U. S.-born investor has become a lynchpin of the U. K. tech ecosystem since arriving in London as an immigrant from the U. S. more than 10 years ago to take a job at Skype.
“As an American, born and raised in the States by immigrant parents, I was incredibly shocked and saddened to see the executive order issued — and the haste and disarray with which it was implemented the following morning,” she said via email when asked for her thoughts.
“Being in the States these last few days has given me a firsthand view of how tremendously people have rallied to exercise their first amendment rights in expressing their objections to this unlawful, unconstitutional, unethical and immoral order — and seeing that gives me hope. It reminds me that we each have a voice and our collective voices can make a difference. It also reminds me that silence can be deafening, so I hope people and leaders all around the world will continue to make their views known whatever those may be.”
In the U. K. the perception among some in the tech industry is that Prime Minister Theresa May’s desire to cut a post- Brexit trade deal (following last summer’s referendum vote for the U. K. to leave the European Union) is overriding all other considerations — leaving her biting her lip rather than condemning an inhumane policy toward refugees, as other heads of state have .
“The simple truth is it’s important for the U. K. to get a trade deal with the U. S., and right now that looks like a sure thing,” said one London-based tech manager who works for a company with offices in both countries, and who reached out to us with details of how the ban is affecting team morale.
“They can’t and won’t jeopardize that unless there is a cast iron case that Trump is really being a fascist… If we had three to four solid trade deals in place for post-Brexit I think it would be a different story.”
The source went on to describe their team members’ opinions on the immigration ban as ranging from “I’m so worried I can’t focus on work” to “It’s very targeted, precise and temporary, so I’m not worried,” adding: “There are still lots of people who are “prisoners of hope.
