Documents recently obtained by immigrant legal rights group Just Futures Law reveal the deep-rooted relationship between the data analytics firm Palantir Technologies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These revelations underscore the importance that Palantir’s tools have played in supercharging ICE’s surveillance apparatus. They intentionally target for increased identification and deportation immigrants.
Peter Thiel and a cadre of other Silicon Valley partners founded Palantir in 2012. Since then, the company has shipped cutting edge data analytics solutions to agencies of the federal government including DHS. At the start of 2014, Palantir had won a highly controversial contract to build a platform dubbed Falcon. This new digital platform promotes better coordination and communication among agents at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and more efficient data analysis. Most recently, Palantir won a $30 million contract to build ImmigrationOS, an initiative aimed at centralizing and optimizing immigrant identification and deportation measures.
These documents provide the first clear picture of how ICE agents use Palantir’s tools, and specifically Falcon. They know this because they constantly surveil everyone through numerous databases. This capability brings up a lot of questions related to privacy as well as the effects of this kind of surveillance on immigrant communities.
The Evolution of Palantir’s Relationship with ICE
Palantir’s partnership with ICE over the years is indicative of the changing landscape of data analytics and law enforcement practices. From the beginning, Palantir has all-but cornered the market on being a “data processor.” The company argues that it does not collect data in real-time or have direct control over how clients use that data. Yet, its software has allowed agencies such as ICE to engage in mass surveillance.
The Falcon application enables agents to easily trace GPS locations on a map. It allows them to query multiple federal databases by name, known address, vehicles, and passport numbers. This new functionality has given ICE the tools to carry out operations more efficiently and with more precision. During a major gang takedown in New York back in February 2018, Falcon was instrumental in finding the targets.
Palantir’s tools have been pivotal in countless operations outside of and in addition to immigration enforcement. Notably, the company’s technology was employed during an anti-human trafficking initiative at the Super Bowl in Atlanta in January 2019. These varied applications illustrate the extensive reach of Palantir’s data analytic powers into many aspects of law enforcement.
Concerns Over Surveillance Practices
These latest documents have raised a firestorm of outrage among supporters of immigrant rights. Palantir’s critics have long contended that their products help agencies build a surveillance state that disproportionately targets undocumented people and communities of color. Jacinta González from MediaJustice stated, “Now [with access to more federal databases], ICE can use this type of surveillance apparatus on anyone – not only anyone who is undocumented but anyone who this administration wants to criminalize.”
The emails Just Futures Law was able to obtain paint a picture of how deep ICE’s reliance on Palantir’s tools truly goes. One email from June 2020 referenced a request from a partner agency seeking assistance in locating a person with extensive international travel history. Such communications further emphasize the deep tactical and strategic partnership between ICE and Palantir when it comes to carrying out enforcement actions.
Hannah Lucal from Just Futures Law emphasized the implications of this relationship: “Palantir is the corporate backbone of ICE that the agency is relying on for surveillance and deportations.” According to Lucal, Palantir’s technology has been at the center of ICE’s operations for more than a decade. This reliance raises alarm over the agency’s recently discussed aggressive tactics.
The Business Model Behind Data Analytics
This contentious business model is not the only thing that has raised eyebrows within the tech and legal communities of Palantir’s activities. Critics have accused the company of reaping profits through aggressive upselling of its services to public sector clients. Olive Ratliff, a former employee of Palantir, remarked on this practice: “Palantir’s whole business model is about upselling. That’s the only way that they grow.”
Despite these critiques, Palantir has repeatedly dug in on its claims that it’s helping law enforcement conduct investigations while being tightly regulated by the law. Lisa Gordon, a spokesperson for Palantir, clarified that the company focuses on aiding agencies in their operations, “including but not limited to everything from stopping drug trafficking cartels to disrupting human trafficking networks.”
Palantir’s contracts with ICE illuminate a set of important ethical questions that should be asked about these collaborations and partnerships. This is as true today, as data privacy is more heavily scrutinized. Advocates for immigrant rights have long asserted that Palantir technologies have a chilling effect on communities. As social beings, we grow fearful and apprehensive when we realize that we could be surveilled.