GitHub’s $200,000 contract renewal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement ignited a mass employee strike within an hour.

Nat Friedman disclosed the renewal in an internal memo on Tuesday, labeling the sum “not financially material” while acknowledging his personal opposition to the agency’s policies.[^1][^2][^3][^4][^5] The memo confirm…

Within sixty minutes of the leaked memo, a petition circulated among staff, gathering roughly 150 signatures.[^1][^3][^5] The letter demanded an immediate cancellation of the ICE contract, regardless of cost.[^3][^4] …

The petition’s tone rejected monetary offsetting, stating, “We cannot offset human lives with money. There is no donation that can offset the harm that ICE is perpetrating with the help of our labor.”[^3] The rapid re…