During his visit to Europe, Tim Cook received an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow. Following the presentation ceremony, the Apple CEO took the opportunity to speak out against President Donald Trump’s currently suspended immigration order, which banned travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.
“We have employees that secured a work visa, they brought family to the U.S., but happened to be outside the U.S. when the executive order was issued and all of a sudden their families were affected,” Cook said, describing the situation as a “crisis.”
Cook also talked about Steve Jobs’ status as the son of a Syrian immigrant, and said that immigrants are “key to the innovation of our company. Our company depends on diversity, and diversity with a big ‘D’ [meaning] diversity of thought. People generally have different views of things if they’ve had different backgrounds.”
This is far from the first time Cook has clashed with the new U.S. president over the immigration order. Cook, who was once considered as a possible running mate for Hillary Clinton, previously said Apple employees affected by the ban will be able to draw on Apple’s expert HR, legal and security teams.
Apple also joined 96 other tech companies signing a legal brief against Trump’s executive order temporarily banning travel and immigration. The amicus brief, which was filed late Sunday night in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, made the argument that immigrants are vital for both society and the U.S. economy.
During his visit to Scotland, Cook also visited an Apple store, where he was presented with a drawing and a tartan scarf. Following the visit to Scotland, he met with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May in London, where Apple will soon open a new headquarters.
Humbled & honored to become part of the @UofGlasgow community tonight. Thank you to the faculty & students of this great university! pic.twitter.com/YpwArFUgGr
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 8, 2017
Source: BBC
