Trump ban effect? 'World is going to start closing the door'

Nathan Bomey and Elizabeth Weise | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Ford CEO: We respect all people Mark Fields explains why the company is against the Immigration Ban

As Muslim entrepreneur Samia Bahsoun surveyed her Asbury Park, N.J., business Monday in the wake of President Trump's temporary immigration ban, she came to an unsettling realization.

Her wireless start-up, Capwave Technologies, faces a serious risk of losing budding investment opportunities from venture capitalists in Malaysia and plans to seek funding from investors in the Middle East. She said she's also concerned that talented Muslim students who often attend American universities will be deterred.

"This executive order is a very clear indication that we're not welcome," she said. "As this president is closing the door on the world, the world is going to start closing the door on us."

Although immigrants from Malaysia, which has a large Muslim population, were not included in Trump's temporary travel ban affecting seven countries, the president's action cast a cloud of uncertainty over U.S. businesses of all sorts as they scrambled to assess the policy's impact.

Amid growing concern that it could throttle the flow of foreign talent, block certain employees from returning to their home offices and harm small businesses that rely on immigrant spending, some U.S. corporations decried the immigration blockade.

Karen Eng, CEO of Schaumberg, Ill.-based engineering consultancy CSMI, said she fears that her customers, such as Kraft, General Mills and Nestle, could scale back foreign investment plans.

"It could have a big effect on my business if they choose not to expand their capabilities overseas," she said.

Technology companies with professionals and customers who could be affected by the ban swiftly denounced the policy, including Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Yelp, Tesla and Airbnb.

Ride-hailing firm Lyft donated $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is battling the ban, after rival Uber came under scrutiny for what critics said was an insensitive response. Uber later issued a statement assailing the policy and pledged a $3 million legal defense fund for immigrant Uber drivers caught outside the U.S.

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Other global companies with professionals spread out among dozens of countries reacted gingerly, with some declining to comment altogether, others expressing mild concern and only a few outright criticizing the action.

Ford, for example, broke the silence among the major U.S. automakers by assailing Trump's action, even as the U.S. auto industry remains nervous about getting on Trump's bad side as the president weighs a border tax.

"Respect for all people is a core value of Ford Motor Company, and we are proud of the rich diversity of our company here at home and around the world. That is why we do not support this policy or any other that goes against our values as a company," Ford CEO Mark Fields and Executive Chairman Bill Ford told employees in an email.

Although Ford said it was not aware of any employees who were personally impacted, reports surfaced of other organizations that were directly affected. At the Cleveland Clinic, for example, a doctor born in Saudi Arabia and carrying a Sudan passport was reportedly denied entry to the U.S. upon returning Saturday and was forced to return to the Middle East.

General Motors sent an email to its employees on Sunday, obtained by the Detroit Free Press, about the travel and immigration policy.

"Some of our colleagues operate here with a GM-sponsored work visa and a few are from the countries affected by the Executive Order," John Quattrone, GM's senior vice president of global human resources said in the memo. "Please know that, per our normal business practices, if any GM employee traveling back to the U.S. with a visa encounters difficulties, GM will provide the employee and his/her family with support."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that some companies are advising potentially affected employees to “simply stay in place and avoid travel until the confusion can be rectified.”

Companies are “understandably confused with regard to the status of green card holders and dual nationals, and we hope the administration can quickly clarify how these will be handled,” the U.S. Chamber told USA TODAY in a statement.

Some corporations with significant operations in the Middle East had nothing to say. Representatives from oil giants Exxon Mobil and BP, for instance, declined to comment.

Others were low-key. Cargill, which employs many immigrants in its meat and poultry plants, said it is working with its travel and security partners to determine what the action means for its workers.

It’s not surprising that companies are cautious of opening up a Pandora’s box by taking up the issue when they apparently could be “a tweet away from annoying the administration,” said Jennifer Walske, a professor in the school of management at the University of San Francisco.

In the end, companies need to look at the fundamentals, what their business stands for and where their customers are, said Melissa Arnoff, chair of corporate communication at Levick Strategic Communications.

Because of that, may firms are being cautious of what they say.

“If you look at a lot of the statements, people are criticizing the policy without criticizing the president. It’s a fine line, but they’re trying to not blatantly say he’s a horrible person,” she said.

Others see the need for companies to speak up and speak out.

“It’s one thing for our president to be tone deaf, but our corporate leaders can’t do the same, said Aaron Kwittken, CEO of Kwittken, a New York-based corporate brand reputation agency.

“I don’t think companies can stay silent. I think you’re actually going to see true leaders and leadership emerge from corporate America, because their mettle is being tested like never before,” he said.

Chilling effect

Michelle Sternthal, deputy director of policy and government affairs at the Main Street Alliance, said the ban could undermine American innovation because 25% of science and engineering companies have at least one immigrant founder.

"The chilling effect is just enormous," she said.

Follow USA TODAY reporters Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey and Elizabeth Weise at @eweise.