Home-sharing company Airbnb has started to realize its 'free-housing' policy for refugees and ''anyone not allowed in the US'' after Donald Trump signed an executive order categorically banning Syrian refugees, and temporarily blocking refugees and citizens from seven Muslim majority countries—including permanent US residents. 

After a harsh criticism against Trump's unfair immigration order, a federal judge issued an emergency stay for those currently detained in the US. Apart from these discussions,  Airbnb shared its own response over social media stating that Airbnb will provide free housing for refugees and ''anyone not allowed in the US''- firstly announced by Co-founder of Airbnb Brian Chesky from his twitter account on Saturday night. 

''Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US. Stayed tuned for more, contact me if urgent need for housing'', said Chesky.

Brian Chesky, Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. Image courtesy of Airbnb

In a press release sent to Airbnb community across the world, the company officially launched its fee-housing policy by creating 'Volunteer Hosting Section' as well as adding a donation tool in the website to be able to financially contribute to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to meet the most pressing needs. ''An effort that has helped raise over $1.6 million thus far'', said Chesky.

''Last night, Brian Chesky sent the below email to Airbnb staff globally. Brian also announced that Airbnb is working with partners around the world to support refugees and those who may have been affected unexpectedly by the travel ban, including by providing free accommodations,'' stated Airbnb.

You can read Brian Chesky's full letter below sent to the Airbnb staff:

Hey Team,

Yesterday, the President of the United States signed an executive order limiting immigration and travel into the US for certain people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

This is a policy that I profoundly disagree with, and it is a direct obstacle to our mission at Airbnb.

We believe that you should be able to travel to, and live in any community around the world. This is what we mean when we say anyone should be able to belong anywhere. If we want this to be more than just something we put on a plaque, we have to take action. So here are some of the actions we are taking.

Within hours of the order, we were in touch with those people on our team who we know are impacted, not just to offer help and resources but to make clear they have the unwavering support of everyone at this company. We also reached out to our team members who are not affected by the order but who work in the US on visas and green cards, in order to inform them that the same resources and support will be available to them.

To everyone here, if you believe this executive order could impact you, please let us know as soon as possible so the team can support you. This is obviously a dynamic situation and our team is vigilantly tracking these developments.

Living up to our mission means supporting our global community, as well. Thanks to the dedication of Joe Gebbia and others, we’ve partnered with and supported organizations focused on the needs of refugees around the world since 2015. Airbnb has offered free housing to hundreds of relief workers serving on the front lines of the global refugee crisis. We launched a donation tool on our website to make it easy for our community to join us by financially contributing to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to meet the most pressing needs, an effort that has helped raise over $1.6 million thus far.

In light of this new policy, however, we must do more. It’s why I announced that Airbnb is now providing free housing to refugees and anyone recently barred from entering the US. We have an internal team working on this in coordination with key partners to identify needs and will have more information for everyone soon.

Barring refugees and people who are not a threat from entering America simply because they are from a certain country is not right, and we must stand with those who are affected. The doors to America shall remain open, and any that are locked will not be for long.

Brian

(-end of letter)

On the other hand, global media-tech companies including Alphabet, Adobe, Kickstarter, Netflix, Yelp and Airbnb are planning to meet today to discuss filing an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration order, Reuters reports. 

''We're all very shaken. We're shaken to see our neighbors and our families and our friends targeted in this way'', said Michal Rosenn, General Counsel for fundraising company Kickstarter. ''All of us are trying to think about what we can do''.

Top image: Airbnb host greets guest, courtesy of Airbnb

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