Anthropic and OpenAI chiefs criticise ICE actions, express support for Trump

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman have both criticised recent actions by US immigration authorities, while also signalling support for President Donald Trump, according to media reports.

Speaking on an NBC News segment on Monday night, Dario Amodei expressed concern over recent developments involving Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, referring to violence reported in the city. He emphasised the need to protect democratic values domestically, both during the television appearance and in a subsequent post on X that highlighted events unfolding in Minnesota, NBC News reported. During the interview, Amodei said he supported strengthening democracies against autocratic states but stressed that democratic principles must also be upheld at home. He also informed that Anthropic does not have any contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Separately, OpenAI chief Sam Altman addressed the issue in an internal Slack message to employees that was later reported by The New York Times. In the message, Altman said the current actions involving ICE had gone too far and stated that pushing back against government overreach was part of civic responsibility. He drew a distinction between deporting violent criminals and the actions currently being reported, adding that it was important to recognise that difference, according to the report.

The comments came amid mounting pressure from technology workers, including employees at Anthropic and OpenAI, who have urged their leaders to intervene with the White House and call for ICE to withdraw from US cities following reports that Border Patrol agents had killed two US citizens in Minneapolis. An open letter circulated by workers also called on technology companies to cancel any existing contracts with ICE and to speak out publicly against what they described as violence by the agency.

Organisers behind ICEout.tech, a group advocating for action against ICE whose members remain anonymous, welcomed the statements from Amodei and Altman but said more leaders needed to speak up. The group told TechCrunch that while it was encouraged by the responses from OpenAI and Anthropic, executives at Apple, Google, Microsoft and Meta had remained silent despite industry-wide calls for action.

Despite criticising ICE’s actions, both Amodei and Altman framed their remarks alongside expressions of confidence in President Trump. According to The New York Times, Altman told employees that he was encouraged by the president’s more recent responses and expressed hope that Trump, whom he described as a strong leader, would rise to the moment and help unite the country.