According to a recent document, ICE stated that no other vendor could match the urgency of establishing the necessary infrastructure to fulfill this critical need and deliver a prototype within a six-month period. The document does not specify which data sources Palantir will utilize to power its ImmigrationOS system, but it confirms that Palantir is able to configure the case management system it has provided to ICE since 2014.
Palantir has collaborated with various government agencies dating back to 2007. Alongside ICE, the company has worked with the US Army, Air Force, Navy, Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As reported by WIRED, Palantir is currently assisting Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency in developing a new “mega API” for the IRS, which aims to enhance the searchability of records across its databases.
Recent reports from 404 Media indicate that an updated version of Palantir’s case-management system allows ICE agents to conduct searches based on numerous specific categories, such as an individual’s mode of entry into the United States, current legal status, country of origin, physical features, and vehicle information, which offers detailed insights into the individual’s travel patterns.
These functionalities were originally outlined in a government privacy assessment published in 2016, and it remains unclear what additional information, if any, has been integrated into the system over the subsequent four years.
The recent $30 million contract expansion is an extension of a previous agreement established in 2022 for Palantir’s work on ICE’s case management system. This contract has been augmented five times, with the most considerable increase of $19 million occurring in September 2023.
The update to the ImmigrationOS was first documented in a government database tracking federal spending on April 11, with a 248-character description of the change. Additionally, a newly published five-page document provides a comprehensive overview of Palantir’s anticipated services to ICE.
This contract enhancement coincides with the Trump administration’s intensified efforts to expand deportation processes from the United States. Recently, immigration authorities have apprehended individuals with student visas and green cards, deporting at least 238 people to a prison in El Salvador, where some have been denied access to legal representation or due process.
The Department of Homeland Security, aiming to encourage voluntary departures, revoked temporary parole of over half a million individuals, requiring them to self-deport within a month, despite having been granted authorization to reside in the US following their escape from perilous situations in countries such as Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
Last week, the Social Security Administration categorized over 6,000 of these individuals as deceased to terminate their financial opportunities. Concurrently, DHS distributed emails to an undisclosed number of individuals, rescinding their parole and instructing them to self-deport, inadvertently reaching several US citizens, including immigration lawyers.
On Monday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to rescind individuals’ authorization to reside in the US under the CHNV programs. A White House spokesperson criticized the judge’s decision as “rogue.”
