Marc Benioff draws backlash for making ICE jokes at Salesforce event

Marc Benioff sparked outrage at Salesforce‘s company kickoff. The CEO made multiple jokes about ICE targeting international employees. Furious staff are now circulating an open letter demanding action.

A Costly Joke About Immigration Enforcement

Benioff asked international employees to stand during his opening keynote. He thanked them for traveling to the Las Vegas event. Then he made a joke about ICE agents being in the building to monitor them.

According to employees at the meeting, the room groaned. Some staff said they couldn’t believe he said that. Dozens of Slack messages immediately erupted across the company.

The CEO followed up with a second joke about ICE surveillance. He then made an unrelated comment about Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance. Staff found the string of comments tone-deaf and cruel.

Staff Fury Spreads Across Slack Channels

One employee posted: “It’s hard to believe this company still has values when you make completely off-base jokes about ICE in your opening keynote. That’s unacceptable.”

Another wrote: “I’m deeply disappointed and uncomfortable that two jokes about ICE were made in the first few minutes of Marc’s opening keynote. The fact that the first was made after welcoming our teammates who traveled from outside the US? Even worse.”

A third message stated: “A joke about ICE surveilling employees’ travel, when there are literally employees afraid to travel for work due to current situation.” Employees noted that many staff have genuine safety concerns about ICE operations.

Salesforce’s Controversial ICE Relationship

Issue	Detail
Salesforce pitch to ICE	Offered AI technology to help hire 10,000 new agents and agents expeditiously
Current detention	ICE currently detains 66,000 people, 73% with no criminal record
Recent incidents	Killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis
Employee concern	Using Agentforce AI infrastructure to scale mass deportation agenda

“We are deeply troubled by leaked documentation revealing that Salesforce has pitched AI technology to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help the agency ‘expeditiously’ hire 10,000 new agents and vet tip-line reports. Providing ‘Agentforce’ infrastructure to scale a mass deportation agenda currently detaining 66,000 people represents a fundamental betrayal of our commitment to the ethical use of technology.”

— Salesforce employees’ open letter circulating internally

The Open Letter Amplifies Employee Demands

Multiple Salesforce employees are now circulating an internal open letter. The letter calls on Benioff to publicly denounce ICE. It demands Salesforce ban its software from being used by immigration agents.

The letter references the recent killings as catalysts. It calls the deaths “a devastating indictment of a system that has discarded human decency.” It argues Benioff has unique influence in Washington as a tech leader and Time magazine owner.

The letter cites a 2025 incident when Benioff and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reportedly convinced Trump to hold off on ICE deployments in San Francisco. It urges him to use that influence again to push for federal legislation that would reform the agency.

Historical Pattern of Controversial Benioff Comments

This isn’t Benioff’s first major misstep. In October 2025, he suggested President Trump deploy the National Guard to San Francisco ahead of Dreamforce. Intense backlash followed, and Benioff apologized days later.

Then he reversed course, joining Nvidia’s Jensen Huang in asking Trump to refrain from sending troops. Benioff cited genuine safety concerns as his motivation.

But insiders say today’s backlash is significantly more forceful. One source told reporters: “Lots of people are furious.” Another said the internal pushback is stronger than even the National Guard controversy. The combination of the joke and Salesforce’s known ICE contracts has proven especially damaging.

Will Benioff Respond to the Growing Pressure?

Salesforce hasn’t commented yet on the jokes or the open letter. Benioff has shifted his political stance in recent months. Previously, he backed Democratic candidates and causes.

But since January 2026, he’s signaled greater openness to Republican leaders. He’s claimed he stays nonpartisan due to owning Time magazine. Yet he joked about donating a Trump cover to the president’s inauguration fund.

The company is also facing leadership turnover. Salesforce lost its Slack CEO, Tableau chief, and AI executive in recent weeks. Internal morale appears increasingly fragile. How Benioff responds to this letter could signal whether he’s willing to change course, or if Salesforce employees should expect more contentious moments ahead.

Sources

• Business Insider – Reported internal Slack messages showing employee anger and disappointment
• 404 Media – Obtained detailed employee accounts and Slack conversations from the event
• WIRED – Covered the open letter and broader context of Salesforce’s ICE relationships