Expedia, Amazon Among Local Companies Pushing Back On Trump Executive Order

BELLEVUE, WA - A number of the area's largest and most notable companies are partnering with state officials to push back on a recent executive order handed down by President Donald Trump that bans citizens of seven countries from entering the U.S. and restricts refugee entry.

At the top of the list, Bellevue-based Expedia has filed a declaration in support of Attorney General Bob Ferguson's request to suspend the executive order. Robert Dzielak, Expedia's general counsel, asserts that the order hurts the company's ability to hire employees around the world. He also said that the order restricts Expedia's employees from traveling freely for business. Expedia employs about 3,000 people in Bellevue.

Meanwhile, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sent an email to employees stating that immigrants are a "distinct competitive advantage." Amazon has also filed a declaration in support of Ferguson's suit.

"We're a nation of immigrants whose diverse backgrounds, ideas and points of view have helped us build and invent as a nation for over 240 years," Bezos said in the email. "No nation is better at harnessing the energies and talents of immigrants. It's a distinctive competitive advantage for our country — one we should not weaken."

Microsoft is also supporting the suit, and has pledged to provide employees affected by the ban - an estimated 76 in total - with legal help.

One of the main arguments in Ferguson's suit is that the executive order harms the state's economy by hindering employees of companies based here.

The Stranger newspaper has compiled a list of locally-based companies - including Starbucks, Nordstrom, and companies that have offices here, like Google and Facebook - and how they have or have not reacted to Trump's executive order.

Image via Expedia.com