Washington: Google CEO Sunder Pichai has expressed disappointment over the proclamation issued by US President Donald Trump to temporarily suspend foreign work visas, including the H-1B, and said he would stand with immigrants and work to expand opportunity for all.
Immigration has contributed immensely to America's economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Google the company it is today, Indian-American Pichai said in a tweet hours after Trump issued his proclamation in this regard.
Disappointed by today's proclamation - we'll continue to stand with immigrants and work to expand opportunity for all, Pichai said.
In a separate statement, Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, slammed the latest move of the Trump administration.
The latest travel ban is a new season of the same racist, xenophobic show put on by Donald Trump and Stephen Miller, she said.
But Trump's transparent effort to rally his base and distract from his innumerable failures, including his disastrous response to COVID-19, will not work. Indeed, the courts will stop his unlawful actions targeting immigrants, Gupta said.
Like the past versions of this overused script using a pandemic to justify white nationalist policies, it deserves to be cancelled, she said.
Alice G Wells, who till a few weeks ago was the point person of the Trump administration for South and Central Asia, also opposed the move.
Being able to attract the best and the brightest through the H1-B visa programme has made America more successful and resilient. Knowing how to tap foreign talent is a US strength, not a weakness! Wells said.
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Kolkata (PTI): The Calcutta High Court has requested the Election Commission to address the TMC's complaint that a police observer in South 24 Parganas district for the assembly polls met a BJP candidate in violation of norms.
The TMC prayed for the removal of the said officer from the role of police observer in four assembly constituencies -- Magrahat Purba, Magrahat Paschim, Diamond Harbour and Falta.
The EC stated before the court that the observer met the candidate in an official capacity at the designated conference room for meetings at a state government-owned tourist lodge in Diamond Harbour, and there was nothing confidential about it as alleged by the petitioner.
Justice Krishna Rao, after hearing the parties in the matter last week, "requested" the Election Commission of India to dispose of the complaint filed by the TMC and to communicate the order to the petitioner.
The TMC alleged in the petition that during his stay at the tourist lodge, the officer held a private and unofficial meeting with the candidate fielded by the BJP from the Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency.
Senior advocate D S Naidu, representing the Election Commission, stated before the court that sub-clause 3 of Clause 3 of the Observer’s Handbook provides that for all purposes, a police observer would act as the eyes and ears of the ECI during the period of election and provide direct input to the commission.
He stated before the court that a police observer has to meet the public as well as the candidates and to submit a report to the Commission.
Naidu further submitted that the TMC's allegation that the police observer in question met with the BJP candidate in a personal manner is baseless, as he met the said candidate in an official capacity along with others.
