VanHack’s Statement on the Executive Order issued by US President Donald J. Trump suspending the entry of certain categories of legal immigrants.

VanHack was founded on two principles: “Code has no accent”, and “The Internet knows no borders”. 

The belief that every person  - no matter where they are in the world - deserves the chance to lead the best possible life that they can is deeply embedded in VanHack’s culture. 

Every day for the past five years, we have seen the best and brightest from all over the world work hard to improve their lives by looking for opportunities that match their talent. And when these driven professionals get the chance to move to a new country - they work extremely hard to ensure that they are able to fulfil their dreams and contribute to the country that allowed them to flourish.  

We’re proud to have helped almost 1,000 tech professionals and their families relocate to Canada and Europe to pursue their career and personal life goals. We are also proud that these skilled workers have contributed to the local economies of the cities they are now living in, many of which are in traditionally non-tech markets such as Calgary, Luxembourg, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Halifax, and Malta, among others. 

It’s important to remember that studies have repeatedly shown that skilled workers create many new jobs and contribute to the local economy by paying rent, going to the grocery store, getting haircuts and other related economic activity. 

The internet doesn’t have borders and many countries such as Canada have discovered that it is much better to have sensible policies that attract skilled workers, rather than have jobs get moved to other countries via remote work, along with the corresponding tax revenue. 

The news from the US has undoubtedly caused deep consternation amongst immigrants as well as the communities, schools and businesses that have welcomed these skilled immigrants. 

We are hopeful that the United States - rightly described as a nation of immigrants - will once again welcome these talented professionals to their shores, and we express our deepest sympathies to those that have been affected by this executive order. 

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