Immigration nonprofit rejects Salesforce money as tech faces ethics backlash over borders

SAN FRANCISCO -- A Texas nonprofit that helps immigrants has rejected a $250,000 donation from Salesforce, saying it won't be part of what it calls an attempt by the company to buy its way out of an ethical quandary over its contracts with Customs and Border Protection. The decision is part of the unprecedented backlash tech companies are facing -- particularly from their own employees -- over work with government agencies that these employees say violate ethical standards. In recent months, employees at Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Salesforce have pressured their senior management to drop deals with government agencies. The immigration nonprofit's decision follows an open letter to CEO Marc Benioff in June signed by more than 650 of Salesforce's own staff that asked it to cancel its contract to supply software and tools to manage border activities to Customs and Border Protection. Salesforce said it doesn't work with CBP regarding separating families and kept the contract.