Google DeepMind Staffers Ask Leaders to Keep Them ‘Physically Safe’ From ICE

Employees at Google DeepMind have asked the company's management for plans and policies to keep them “physically safe”. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while on the company's grounds, according to screenshots of internal messages obtained by WIRED.

On Monday morning, two days after federal agents shot and killed Minneapolis nurse Alex Prettia Google DeepMind employee posted the following message in an internal message board for the company's roughly 3,000-person AI unit:

“US direct question: What is GDM doing to keep us physically safe from ICE? The events of the past week have shown that immigration status, citizenship, or even the law is no deterrent against detention, violence, or even death of federal operatives.”

It continues: “What types of plans and policies are in place to ensure our safety in the office? Getting to and from work? As we've seen, government agency tactics can change and escalate quite quickly. With offices in many metro areas across the US, are we prepared?”

The post received more than 20 “plus emoji” reactions from Google DeepMind employees.

By Monday evening, no senior Google leaders had responded to the message. In fact, Google's top brass — including CEO Sundar Pichai and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis — have remained silent about Pretti's murder, even within the company, sources say.

The messages show some of the latter divisions forming between AI companies and their employees over the Trump administration's deployment of federal immigration agents in America. While Silicon Valley CEOs have largely bowed the knee to Trump, their employees have begun to raise concerns internally and externally about the federal government's actions.

Google DeepMind's chief scientist, Jeff Dean, has been one of the industry's most outspoken critics of ICE. In a post on X On Sunday, he responded to a video of Pretti's shooting, saying, “This is an absolute disgrace.”

Employees at the defense tech firm Palantir have questioned the company's decision to work with ICE. WIRED previously reported that one Palantir employee wrote in Slack: “In my opinion, ICE are the bad guys. I'm not proud that the company I enjoy working for so much is part of this.”

Employees of AI labs partnering with Palantir — including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Meta — have also discussed whether to push leaders to cut ties with the defense tech company, The New York Times reported.

Concerns about ICE agents entering Google's offices are not unfounded. In a message obtained by WIRED, a separate Google DeepMind employee raised concerns about a federal agent's alleged attempt to enter the company's Cambridge, Massachusetts, office in the fall.

Google's head of security and risk operations responded to this message to clarify what had happened. They noted that an “officer arrived at the front desk without notice” and that the agent “was not granted entry because they did not have a warrant and promptly left.”

Google declined to comment.

Google is one of many Silicon Valley companies that relies on thousands of highly skilled foreign workers, many of whom are in the United States on visas. In light of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, these companies have to offer increased protections for many of its workers. Late last year, Google and Apple advised employees on visas not to leave the country after the White House stepped up its review of visa applicants.

At that time, the leaders of Silicon Valley were not shy defense of visa programwhich have allowed the United States to bring in top talent from around the world.

But AI executives have appeared hesitant to talk about the federal government's latest immigration actions. Beyond Google, top executives from Silicon Valley companies — including OpenAI, Meta, xAI, Apple and Amazon — have yet to publicly comment on ICE activities. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed the Minnesota incident in an internal message to the company, according to DealBooktell employees that “what's happening with ICE is going too far.”