Overview
- Marc Benioff twice joked about ICE monitoring international attendees during Salesforce’s Company Kickoff in Las Vegas, prompting immediate internal backlash documented in Slack messages.
- An internal open letter has gathered more than 1,400 signatures urging Benioff to denounce ICE, cancel any active pitches or opportunities with the agency, and set clear red lines on product use.
- The letter cites leaked materials showing Salesforce pitched its Agentforce AI to help ICE rapidly hire 10,000 agents and vet tip-line reports.
- Senior leaders acknowledged the uproar internally, with Slack general manager Rob Seaman telling staff he could not defend or explain the remarks.
- Salesforce posted an internal recording of Benioff’s keynote with the ICE comments edited out, and the company has not issued a public statement addressing either the jokes or the policy demands.