Salesforce Faces Growing Protests Over Ties to ICE Amid Democratic Backlash

Protesters gathered outside Salesforce's Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, calling on the company to end its business ties with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and sign a democracy pledge.

The protests were led by Bay Resistance, an ex-Salesforce employee group, which handed out flyers highlighting the issue of family separation at the border and calling for corporate action to defend democracy.

About 100 people participated in the protest, while inside the conference center, CEO Marc Benioff touted Salesforce's work with nonprofits and NGOs, stating that 65,000 organizations run their services for free using Salesforce.

However, some of these same nonprofits support immigrant communities targeted by ICE, sparking criticism of Benioff's stance on the issue. The company has worked with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) since 2018 and has faced employee opposition over reported pitches for ICE business.