Apple CEO Tim Cook Slams Trump Administrations’s ‘Inhumane’ Border Policy

Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly condemned a Trump administration policy resulting in children being separated from their parents at the U.S. border.

Cook, who is in Ireland on Apple business, told The Irish Times on Tuesday that the border policy is “inhumane” and “needs to stop” — seemingly speaking about audio published by ProPublica of detained children crying at a holding facility.

Nearly 2,000 immigrant children have been separated from their families between April and May, after the U.S. Department of Justice instituted a new “zero tolerance” policy for border crossing offenses.

“We’ve always felt everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. In this case, that’s not happening,” Cook said. “This one in particular is just heartbreaking and tragic.”

Cook is only the latest person in the tech industry to join a growing public outcry over the Trump administration policy. Among Silicon Valley companies, executives at Facebook, Microsoft and AirBnB have also criticized the practice.

Additionally, the Apple CEO said he would use his open lines of communication with the current administration to try and deal with the situation in a constructive way.

“I’m personally a big believer in the way to be a good citizen is to participate, is to try to advocate your point of view, not to just sit on the sideline and yell or complain,” Cook told The Irish Times. “That will be the approach we take here.”

This isn’t the first time Cook or Apple have spoken up about social issues — or the first time that he has vocally disagreed with The White House. Cook has previously voiced his concerns about Trump policies, ranging from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to pulling out of the Paris climate agreement.

Cook added that he has spoken with President Trump on several issues, and has found him to “listen.” But Cook added that he hasn’t found the President to “agree on all things.”