Google DeepMind employees have asked the company’s leadership for plans and policies to keep them “physically safe” from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while on company premises, Wired reported.In an internal message board for Google‘s roughly 3,000-person AI unit, an employee posted what they called a “US focused question” on Monday morning—two days after federal agents fatally shot Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti.
“What is GDM doing to keep us physically safe from ICE? The events of the past week have shown that immigration status, citizenship, or even the law is not a deterrent against detention, violence, or even death from federal operatives,” the employee wrote, according to screenshots of internal messages obtained by Wired.The message received more than 20 “plus emoji” reactions from other Google DeepMind staffers. By Monday evening, no senior leaders from Google had publicly responded, the report said.
Federal agent allegedly tried entering Google’s Cambridge office last fall
Employee concerns aren’t unfounded. A separate Google DeepMind staffer raised concerns about a federal agent’s alleged attempt to enter the company’s Cambridge, Massachusetts office in the fall, Wired reported.Google’s head of security and risk operations clarified that an “officer arrived at reception without notice” and was “not granted entry because they did not have a warrant and promptly left.”Google CEO Sundar Pichai and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis have remained silent on Pretti’s killing, even internally, sources told Wired. However, Google DeepMind’s chief scientist Jeff Dean has been outspoken on X, calling the shooting “absolutely shameful.”
Tech CEOs walk a fine line between criticism and Trump ties
The DeepMind employee concerns come as other tech leaders have begun speaking out—carefully. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees in an internal Slack message that “what’s happening with ICE is going too far,” according to The New York Times. He also called President Trump “a very strong leader” and expressed hope he would “rise to this moment.”Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a memo to staff on Tuesday saying he was “heartbroken” by the Minneapolis events and had a “good conversation” with Trump about his views, Bloomberg reported.Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called the events in Minnesota a “horror” and confirmed his company has no ICE contracts.Google, like many other Silicon Valley firms, relies heavily on thousands of highly skilled foreign workers on visas. Google did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.