President Donald Trump’s two recent strikes regarding immigration issues have sent shock waves through the tech industry, and now they’re starting to ripple back to the Oval Office.

The President’s first bombshell was executive orders limiting travel and refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations, the second a proposal to make changes to the H1-B work visa that tech companies often rely on to find skilled foreign workers.

Now there are reports that a group of tech giants has drafted a letter in opposition to Trump’s immigration crackdown. Recode got hold of the letter, which has reportedly been signed by Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc., as well as other non-tech companies not mentioned by name:

Dear President Trump,

Since the country’s birth, America has been the land of opportunity – welcoming newcomers and giving them the chance to build families, careers, and businesses in the United States. We are a nation made stronger by immigrants. As entrepreneurs and business leaders, our ability to grow our companies and create jobs depends on the contributions of immigrants from all backgrounds.

We share your goal of ensuring that our immigration system meets today’s security needs and keeps our country safe. We are concerned, however, that your recent executive order will affect many visa holders who work hard here in the United States and contribute to our country’s success. In a global economy, it is critical that we continue to attract the best and brightest from around the world. We welcome the changes your administration has made in recent days in how the Department of Homeland Security will implement the executive order, and we stand ready to help your administration identify other opportunities to ensure that our employees can travel with predictability and without undue delay.

Our nation’s compassion is a part of what makes it exceptional, and we are committed to helping your administration identify approaches for thorough screening without a blanket suspension of admissions under the US Refugee Admissions program. While security and vetting procedures can and should always be subject to continuous evaluation and improvement, a blanket suspension is not the right approach.

Similarly, we stand ready to identify ways of helping to achieve your stated goal of bringing clarity to the future of the 750,000 Dreamers in this country under the protections of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in a way “that will make people happy and proud.” Removing these protections by barring renewals would effectively end the program and eliminate the ability for these Dreamers to work and live without the fear of deportation.

The business community shares your commitment to growing the American economy and expanding job creation across the country. We hire both thousands of Americans and some of the most talented people from abroad, who work together to help our companies succeed and expand our overall employment. As you contemplate changes to the nation’s complex and interconnected immigration policies, whether business and employment-based visas, refugees, or DACA, we hope that you will use us as a resource to help achieve immigration policies that both support the work of American businesses and reflect American values.

Other tech leaders are taking action on their own, though it’s safe to say that most of them are still taking a cautious public stance.

In what seems like a move to assuage public criticism as much as it is opposition to Donald Trump’s immigration policies, Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick just resigned from Trump’s advisory council. In spite of Kalanick being outspoken against Trump’s immigration ban, the CEO and his company were later vilified by a section of the social media-using public for his participation in the Trump administration, and also for events that unfolded during an airport protest. This resulted in what some have deemed an unfair #DeleteUber hashtag on Twitter that reportedly lost Uber 200,000 customers.

Kalanick, who joined Trump’s advisory council in December, provided a vague reason for his departure from the council: “There are many ways we will continue to advocate for just change on immigration, but staying on the council was going to get in the way of that.” Kalanick also said working with Trump had created what he called a “perception-reality gap between who people think we are, and who we actually are.”

Kalanick’s resignation, along with the letter to Mr. Trump, signal a widening gap forming between the new government and a large swath of the business community, especially tech companies. Some are trying to remain positive, such as Tesla Motors Inc. boss Elon Musk, who believes some sort of “consensus” can be reached.

Photo: Daniel Huizinga via Flickr