Sheryl Sandberg: Trump immigration ban defies nation's 'heart and values'

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook executive and Lean In author Sheryl Sandberg denounced President Trump's immigration ban, saying it defies "the heart and values that define the best of our nation. "

The immigration ban is particularly "unforgiving of women," Sandberg wrote in a Facebook post.

Her statement was more forceful in condemning the ban than Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week, reflecting growing tensions between Silicon Valley and the new administration.

Immigrant tech workers fear 'reactionary' travel ban

It's the second time in a week that Sandberg has challenged Trump's policies. She broke her silence last week to sound off on Trump's ban on U.S. funding to overseas health providers that provide abortion counseling.

Sheryl Sandberg - My great-great-grandmother, Channa... | Facebook

Sandberg, a champion of women's rights who represented Facebook at Trump Tower for a meeting with the president-elect in December, had been criticized for remaining silent during the women's marches. Sandberg was a political appointee to the Treasury Department in the Clinton administration and a leading contender to serve as Treasury secretary in a Hillary Clinton administration and she is a major Democratic donor. Some have even speculated she is eyeing a presidential run.

Trump targets tech's H-1B visa hiring tool

She seems to have found her voice again in advocating for women and children affected by Trump's executive orders on abortion and immigration. A growing number of tech companies and executives are speaking out against the immigration ban that has rattled an industry that depends on foreign-born workers.

"Families have been separated. Frightened children have been detained in airports without their parents. People seeking refuge have been turned away and sent back to the danger they just managed to flee," Sandberg wrote in the Facebook post Tuesday. "This is not how it should be in America."

Sheryl Sandberg slams Trump's anti-abortion action: 'It'll hurt more people'

Sandberg shared the story of her great-great-grandmother, who came to the U.S. from Lithuania in the late 1800s.

"Young women caught in refugee status are highly vulnerable to violence and exploitation and also often lose the chance at an education," Sandberg wrote. "We know that no investment has a higher return than girls’ education — for them, for their families and for the countries they may someday help rebuild."