Kansas City’s biggest companies awfully silent on Trump’s immigration ban
Six days ago, President Donald Trump signed an order that immediately prevented refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Virtually no respectable person outside Trump’s xenophobic goblin bunker agrees with this policy, much less the deeply incompetent manner in which it has been rolled out. The only way to characterize it as a success is if you presume that its intention was to create chaos, which is, of course, a possibility.
KCUR has a nice roundup today on what local lawmakers have said publicly about Trump’s move. What about Kansas City’s largest employers, though? The heads of many of the largest companies in the country — Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Apple, Coca-Cola — have spoken out against the immigration ban. Here in KC, though, hardly a peep from our largest companies. We contacted several of KC’s big employers this week, and here’s what we got back:
HALLMARK
“We do not have a statement to share.”
DST
“We don’t comment on political topics, so no news from our end to report.”
CERNER
“While we anticipate little impact to our operations, we believe a diversity of backgrounds, experiences and beliefs leads to innovation. We encourage a thoughtful approach to policies that balance security with creating conditions that foster innovation. We remain committed to recruiting and employing the world’s best talent on behalf of our clients around the globe. We’ll monitor this and other planned or possible regulatory changes, and we’ll continue to work closely with the administration to help shape meaningful health care policy in the future.”
We responded: Does Cerner believe that Trump’s immigration EO is “a thoughtful approach to policies that balance security with creating conditions that foster innovation”?
“We’re going to limit our comment to the statement shared yesterday.”
SPRINT
“We’ll get back to you if we have anything to say.”
GARMIN
No response.
H&R BLOCK
No response.
If you’re a Kansas City employer and would like to comment on the ban, email david.hudnall@pitch.com and we’ll add you to this list.
