Mark Zuckerberg has formally cut ties with the pro-immigration group he helped launch more than a decade ago as his philanthropy retreats from political advocacy and narrows its focus to science amid President Donald Trump’s return to power.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropy founded by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, ended its relationship with FWD.us earlier this year, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News.
The split leaves the immigration and criminal justice reform group without funding from Zuckerberg, Chan or CZI for the first time since its founding in 2013.
FWD.us received no funding from Zuckerberg, Chan or CZI in 2025, according to Bloomberg News.
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 separation became formal in April, when FWD.us removed CZI from its internal bylaws, according to a tax filing with the Internal Revenue Service seen by Bloomberg News.
The move closes a chapter for Zuckerberg, who for years positioned himself as a leading corporate voice in favor of immigration reform, especially policies benefiting immigrants working in technology.
It also comes as Zuckerberg has made sweeping changes across both Meta Platforms Inc. and his philanthropic empire following Trump’s re-election.
Earlier this year, Zuckerberg dismantled diversity programs at Meta and oversaw changes to the company’s hate speech policies that now allow exclusionary and “insulting language” in the context of immigration.
His philanthropy has also been winding down social advocacy funding and eliminating its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) team.
A CZI spokesperson said the organization has been engaged in a years-long transition away from political and social advocacy, narrowing its mission to science and biomedical research.
A network of research centers known as the Biohub is now the philanthropy’s primary focus, the spokesperson said.
Zuckerberg’s pivot has unfolded even as his business continues to rely heavily on foreign workers.
This year, Meta ranked second only to Amazon in approved H-1B petitions, according to Department of Homeland Security data.
FWD.us, meanwhile, is losing its most important backer at a precarious moment.
The Trump administration has launched a sweeping immigration crackdown that includes arrests, deportations, travel bans and new efforts to restrict temporary workers and lawful permanent residents.
Since its founding, more than half of the roughly $400 million donated to FWD.us flowed through Zuckerberg’s philanthropic vehicles, according to filings.
That total does not include direct gifts Zuckerberg and Chan made before CZI was created.
Zuckerberg stepped down from FWD.us’ board in 2018, as Facebook came under mounting scrutiny over data privacy and election interference.
But CZI continued funding the group through 2024.
At the end of that year, Zuckerberg met privately with Trump adviser Stephen Miller, a chief architect of the administration’s hardline immigration agenda.
During the meeting, Miller questioned Zuckerberg about his ties to FWD.us, according to Bloomberg News.
FWD.us leadership had been preparing for a potential withdrawal for years. Conversations about financial independence accelerated in late 2022, and the organization began actively courting new donors while tightening its budget.
Between 2022 and 2024, funding from non-CZI sources increased by three to four times, according to Bloomberg News.
Major donors in recent years have included the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz, whose Crankstart Foundation contributed more than $1 million.
FWD.us President Todd Schulte said the group has seen a surge of new and existing donor support this year, allowing 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 organization is grounding its advocacy in data, including economic impact reports that examine the costs to families of failed criminal justice policies and the current administration’s immigration actions, as well as work aimed at protecting the United States’ ability to attract and retain top talent critical to economic growth.
“Our focus remains on advancing pragmatic, bipartisan solutions that strengthen the economy and make the immigration and criminal justice systems work better,” Schulte said.
“That mission hasn’t changed, and it’s what continues to guide our strategy, our advocacy, and our partnerships.”
