Standing up.
I am writing to share my perspectives on the executive order on immigration signed by President Trump on Friday. As you likely know, this order blocks citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States for at least the next 90 days. I am shocked and saddened as I hear heart-breaking stories from friends, employees and members of the Evernote community who have been impacted by this order. Singling people out based on their thoughts flies in the face of our mission as a company and what I love about America.
Evernote is the home for more than five billion notes, placed there by users from every country and region on the planet. Those notes contain people’s hopes, dreams, and memories — in short, their ideas. Ideas have no borders and Evernote has always been a global endeavor with more than 80% of our users residing outside of the US and half working in a language other than English. While much of what people keep in Evernote is incredibly private, many of their thoughts were meant to be shared. We believe that the free exchange of these ideas is foundational to the service we provide our customers and what we stand for as an organization.
As a Canadian immigrant to the US, leading a company started by a Russian immigrant, I am personally struggling to come to grips with this policy. I recognize the need for security and that the world is a nuanced and complicated place, but I think knee-jerk reactions containing “alternative facts” will likely create more problems than they solve. Explaining to my children how the leader of the free world can encourage discriminatory behavior is frankly hard. Ironically, my son is obsessed with Alexander Hamilton and the American Revolution, and the outsized impact that immigrants had, and continue to have, on America. My children are worried on many levels — about the United States, and whether or not we will be allowed to live here because of my Canadian citizenship. I want to believe we will be fine, but I truly worry about so many others who are clearly reeling from the impact.
I am in the process of renewing my Green Card, and studying to eventually become a dual Canadian-American citizen, and this order is diametrically opposed to my understanding of what America stands for: freedom, optimism and opportunity. Evernote was founded on the notion of “remembering everything.” Let us never forget what makes this country a beacon of hope for the world. We can do better, and must stand up to unjust, cruel and likely unconstitutional acts like this executive order.
