Zuckerberg group donated to Trump transition

An immigration reform advocacy group founded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other Silicon Valley executives gave $5,000 to President Trump’s transition, despite opposing him in the 2016 presidential race, Politico reported Thursday.

The group, FWD.us, attacked Trump on his proposed immigration policies during his bid and led a broad campaign to oppose his election. FWD.us has been a vocal proponent of immigration reform.

The donation is only the latest sign of how Silicon Valley has tried to reach out to Trump despite strong disagreements with many of his policies.

{mosads}It’s not unusual for industry groups to give money to an incoming president’s transition team. But during the campaign, many top tech executives spoke out against Trump’s vows to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico and crack down on immigration.

After his election, Silicon Valley leaders sat down with Trump in an effort to thaw relations. Since then, though, the tech industry has publicly clashed with Trump on a number of issues, in particular his executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

Zuckerberg criticized the immigration actions on Jan. 27, the same day that Trump issued the controversial travel ban.

“Like many of you, I’m concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post.

“We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat.

“Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources, while millions of undocumented folks who don’t pose a threat will live in fear of deportation.”

This week, a number of prominent tech companies, has also criticized the administration for pulling back guidance for schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice.