Andy Grove’s niece speaks out on behalf of immigrants

Ann Crady Weiss, the niece of former Intel CEO Andy Grove, spoke out on behalf of immigrants in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel to the U.S. by immigrants from seven predominately Muslim countries.

Crady Weiss’ story on NewCo Shift is yet another sign that the tech community is at odds with Trump on immigration policy. It also shows what one generation can learn from the hardships of the previous generation. Crady Weiss is a venture partner at True Ventures, but she wrote the post without identifying herself that way.

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Crady Weiss wrote, “My uncle immigrated to the United States in 1956 with no assets, a brilliant mind, ambition, and a faith that America was a great country of opportunity. He escaped from Hungary, a country of communists, at the time a source of great fear among many U.S. politicians. If the U.S. President at his time were making policy similar to our President today, my uncle would’ve never been allowed in the U.S. My uncle was a good and decent American who, until his death last year, contributed an incredible amount to this country.”

Grove died last year. He was one of the key figures of the information age, and he was famous for his hard-charging management style, summed up as “only the paranoid survive.” He was present as a founding employee at Intel, alongside founders Robert Noyce, who died in 1990, and Gordon Moore, who still survives as Intel’s chairman emeritus. Not only did Grove play a key role in making Intel into the world’s biggest chip maker, he also set the pace for competing in what has become a $347 billion global industry.

Crady Weiss noted that Grove, who survived the Holocaust and crossed the border into the West at great risk after the Hungarian Revolution, never forgot his humble beginnings.

She wrote, “He was riddled with symptoms of Parkinson’s, but made it a point to say something. ‘As we sit here and celebrate what we have done, let’s remember that millions of young people who had the misfortune of being born in the wrong national boundaries are going through all the horrors [I did]. I made it. Let’s try to help them.'”

She added, “This is my attempt. We are so very lucky to live in this great country where we can speak our minds no matter what our views. I am absolutely sure that the vast majority of Americans, in their heart of hearts, want to help those in need. I am also sure that we reject the notion that we should summarily ban the next Andy Grove from the U.S. because of the country he happened to be born in. Please speak up in the name of the millions of young people who cannot speak up on their own. Please speak in the best way you think you will be heard.”

And she closed with criticism for Trump, saying, “The man in the White House today lost the popular vote and won the electoral college because of a couple hundred thousand votes going his way. He has the lowest approval ratings of any other President at the same time in office. America will reject him when next allowed. In the meantime, let’s all stand up and make what we stand for known.”

On Sunday, Intel issued a statement, saying, “We are providing support to potentially impacted employees, all of whom are in this country lawfully.  As a company co-founded by an immigrant, we continue to support lawful immigration.  We will continue to provide any impacted employees with Intel’s full support.”