Starbucks will now offer its employees and their families free legal advice on immigration in light of the executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, BuzzFeed News reported.
"If you are a partner or a family member and you have questions about immigration, travel restrictions, or how the executive order and any related actions may otherwise impact you, please access this legal support and guidance from the Global Mobility and Immigration team," reads a letter sent to Starbucks staff.
Professional services firm Ernst & Young will work with the employees. "We believe it will be a helpful service for those who have questions about their status, and we are helping them navigate through this confusing period," a spokesperson for the coffee company told BuzzFeed.
Trump's executive order on immigration, which also suspends the admission of new refugees, has separated families, caused previously approved visas to be cancelled, and prompted countless protests around the world. Last week, a federal judge in Seattle issued a restraining order temporarily blocking the ban's enforcement.
On January 30, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced that the company plans to hire 10,000 refugees worldwide over the next five years, and strongly denounced the ban, saying it calls the very idea of the American Dream into question. He also expressed support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which Trump has promised to end in his first 100 days.
Companies like Ikea and Amazon have also offered free legal assistance to their employees in response. And 97 tech companies — including Google, Apple, and Facebook — have joined forces to sue the administration over the ban.
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