Jan 27 (Reuters) - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees in an internal message that ICE is "going too far" with its immigration crackdown, becoming the latest corporate executive to voice concerns about heavy enforcement actions in Minnesota.
Federal agents shot and killed a protester in Minneapolis over the weekend, the second such shooting this month, sparking widespread disapproval of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's actions. More than 60 CEOs have signed a statement calling for de-escalation after weeks of silence.
"What's happening with ICE is going too far," Altman wrote in a Slack message to employees of the ChatGPT maker, a source familiar with the matter said. "There is a big difference between deporting violent criminals and what's happening now, and we need to get the distinction right."
"I love the U.S. and its values of democracy and freedom and will be supportive of the country however I can; OpenAI will too," Altman said in his message, which was first reported by the New York Times' DealBook. "But part of loving the country is the American duty to push back against overreach."
Altman's comments come as a rift has emerged at Khosla Ventures, an early OpenAI backer. Founder Vinod Khosla and partner Ethan Choi disavowed comments from partner Keith Rabois over the weekend that law enforcement had not shot an innocent person and that illegal immigrants commit crimes on a daily basis.
A number of businesses have been hesitant to criticize U.S. President Donald Trump during his second term.
Since the beginning of "Operation Metro Surge" in Minneapolis in December, major Minnesota corporations had been largely silent about the effects of the immigration enforcement efforts on the city, a liberal Midwestern stronghold as well as a major corporate hub.
Leaders of companies such as 3M MMM.N, UnitedHealth Group UNH.N and General Mills GIS.N have called for de-escalation since the second shooting over the weekend.
More than 450 employees from firms like Google, Meta Platforms META.O, Salesforce CRM.N and OpenAI signed a letter on Saturday urging their top executives to pressure the White House to withdraw ICE from U.S. cities, cancel all contracts with ICE and to speak out publicly against ICE's violence.
"President Trump is a very strong leader, and I hope he will rise to this moment and unite the country. I am encouraged by the last few hours of response and hope to see trust rebuilt with transparent investigations," Altman added.
(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman in San Francisco and Natalia Bueno Rebolledo in Mexico City; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
((natalia.bueno@thomsonreuters.com))
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