Asger Risom
Tech firm’s ICE ties draw scrutiny after tracking reports
A controversial killing by a Border Patrol officer has intensified scrutiny of how US immigration authorities use technology. At the center of the debate is Palantir, a powerful data firm whose tools are increasingly tied to enforcement operations.
Questions are mounting over whether sensitive health data is being repurposed to identify people for arrest.
Tool under scrutiny
Earlier this month, 404 Media reported on a Palantir-developed system used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement called ELITE. According to the report, the tool ingests Medicaid and other government data to generate leads on people ICE believes may be deportable.
ELITE is part of Palantir’s expanding work with ICE. Last year, the two sides announced a $30 million contract running through 2027 to develop ImmigrationOS, an AI platform designed to “track immigrants’ movements.” Neither Palantir nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to Fortune’s requests for comment on ELITE’s use.
404 Media reported that ELITE assigns a “confidence score” to predict a person’s current address, effectively mapping targets for arrest. The reporting raised concerns about how data many patients assume is protected could be used for surveillance.
Data-sharing concerns
The controversy follows revelations about a data-sharing agreement between ICE and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Associated Press first reported last July that the agreement would allow ICE access to personal data from nearly 80 million Medicaid patients.
Documents related to the deal were released earlier this month after a lawsuit brought by 404 Media and the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Digital rights groups argue patients never consented to having their data used in immigration enforcement.
“ICE is using a Palantir tool that uses Medicaid and other government data to stalk people for arrest,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote in a recent analysis.
Political backdrop
The backlash comes amid President Donald Trump’s second administration, which has pledged to expand deportations and rely more heavily on data-driven tools. Immigrant rights groups say such practices could deter families from seeking healthcare.
Health policy nonprofit KFF warned that separating medical data by immigration status may not be feasible. “It is not possible to isolate immigrants who are not lawfully present in the dataset that will be shared with ICE,” the group wrote.
Growing resistance
Palantir’s role has drawn protests before, including campaigns such as “No Tech for ICE.” As of Monday, a public letter urging tech leaders to cancel ICE contracts had gathered 450 signatures from tech workers, including some at Palantir.
Thirteen former Palantir employees also criticized the company’s direction last year. “Big Tech, including Palantir, is increasingly complicit, normalizing authoritarianism under the guise of a ‘revolution’ led by oligarchs,” they wrote.
Sources: Fortune, 404 Media, Associated Press, Electronic Frontier Foundation
