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Trump travel ban would harm competitiveness of US companies, tech firms say

Among papers filed with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is reviewing the Trump travel ban, is a brief by 97 tech companies, including Microsoft, Apple, Google, Twitter and Facebook. According to the companies, the executive order that enshrined the ban:

[I]nflicts significant harm on American business, innovation, and growth as a result. The order makes it more difficult and expensive for U.S. companies to recruit, hire, and retain some of the world’s best employees. It disrupts ongoing business operations. And it threatens companies’ ability to attract talent, business, and investment to the United States.

The order is unlawful, the companies charge, because it discriminates on the basis of nationality and exercises discretion arbitrarily.