The irony of protesters in Los Angeles vandalizing and burning Waymo self-driving cars — owned by Alphabet, Google’s parent company — results from Alphabet’s long-standing public support for illegal immigration, and other left-wing causes.
In 2017, Alphabet was vocally opposed to President Trump’s executive order that temporarily suspended the entry of foreign nationals into the United States from seven countries—Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen—identified as potential national security risks. The executive order was widely mischaracterized as a “Muslim ban.” However, the order did not cite religion as the basis for its exclusions, and many other larger Muslim-majority countries were not included in the temporary restrictions.
Google employees staged walkouts and protests across the country, and top executives such as CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin encouraged them. Brin, himself an immigrant, even joined demonstrators at San Francisco International Airport. Alphabet’s stance helped galvanize broader opposition across Silicon Valley. More than 100 tech companies—including Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and Netflix—joined in legal challenges and public condemnation of the order.
The company filed amicus briefs in court and pledged financial support to pro-immigration organizations. Google also created a $4 million crisis fund (with employee donations matched by the company) to support:
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American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
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Immigrant Legal Resource Center
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International Rescue Committee
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UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency)
At its headquarters in Mountain View, California, Google dragged out Iranian-born product manager Soufi Esmaelizadeh to speak at a company gathering. “This executive order is racist, unconstitutional, and needs to be revoked,” Esmaelizadeh told her colleagues.
Then-Google Chairman Eric Schmidt told employees that the Trump administration was “going to do these evil things, as they’ve done in the immigration area and perhaps others.” He added, “These prejudicial actions are discriminatory and anti-globalization, and I did everything I could to cause a different outcome.”
Fast forward to 2025, and the same company is now literally under fire. The irony is striking: protests that once aligned with Alphabet’s public policy positions are now being directed against its products. Perhaps it is time for Alphabet to reconsider its alignment with left-wing activist causes—not only on immigration, but across a range of issues.