Meta's Zuckerberg cuts ties with pro-immigration group, pivots philanthropy toward science
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative ends funding to FWD.us; Biohub becomes primary focus as political advocacy wanes
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has formally cut ties with FWD.us, the pro-immigration advocacy group he helped launch more than a decade ago, as his philanthropy retreats from political advocacy and narrows its focus to science. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative said this year that it ended its relationship with FWD.us, leaving the immigration and criminal-justice reform group without funding from Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan or CZI for the first time since its founding in 2013.
People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News that the separation became formal in April when FWD.us removed CZI from its internal bylaws, according to a tax filing with the Internal Revenue Service reviewed by Bloomberg. Jordan Fox, CZI’s chief of staff, also stepped down from FWD.us’ board earlier this year, leaving the group without any active representative from Zuckerberg’s philanthropy for the first time in its history.
The move marks a turning point for Zuckerberg, who has long positioned himself as a leading corporate voice on immigration reform, particularly policies benefiting tech workers. It also comes as he enacts sweeping changes across Meta Platforms Inc.—and within his philanthropic empire—after Trump’s return to power. Earlier this year, Zuckerberg dismantled diversity programs at Meta and oversaw changes to the company’s hate-speech policies that allow more exclusionary language in immigration contexts, while CZI has been winding down social-advocacy funding and eliminating its DEI team.
Biohub, a network of medical and scientific research centers, is now described by a CZI spokesperson as the philanthropy’s primary focus as it narrows its mission to science and biomedical research. The pivot aligns with ongoing efforts to concentrate on science despite Meta’s reliance on foreign workers; this year Meta ranked second to Amazon in approved H-1B petitions, according to Department of Homeland Security data.
FWD.us has long benefited from Zuckerberg's backing; since its founding, more than half of the roughly $400 million donated to FWD.us flowed through Zuckerberg's philanthropic vehicles, though the total excludes gifts Zuckerberg and Chan made before CZI’s creation. Zuckerberg stepped down from FWD.us’ board in 2018 as Facebook faced data privacy and election-interference scrutiny; CZI continued funding through 2024.
FWD.us leadership had prepared for a potential withdrawal for years. From 2022 to 2024, funding from non-CZI sources increased three- to fourfold, according to Bloomberg News, as the group actively sought new donors while tightening its budget. Todd Schulte, FWD.us president, said the organization has seen a surge of donor support this year, enabling it to respond to what he described as escalating attacks on immigrant communities and to continue pushing immigration and criminal-justice reform. He said the mission remains grounded in data and pragmatic, bipartisan solutions that strengthen the economy and improve how the immigration and criminal-justice systems function.