Goldman, Wyden, Velázquez Demand Answers on ICE Use of Palantir-developed Technologies to Fuel Mass Surveillance
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representatives Dan Goldman and Nydia Velázquez and Senator Ron Wyden led 30 lawmakers in demanding answers from ICE and DHS about their ongoing use of Palantir-developed technologies to collect Americans’ personal data and fuel a mass surveillance ecosystem.
Public reporting regarding DHS’ data analytics tools and software has raised serious concerns about Palantir-developed technologies being used to compile, aggregate, and analyze large volumes of personal data and information. Reporting further indicates that DHS has deployed a range of surveillance technologies that are provided by multiple private contractors. This includes facial recognition systems developed by Clearview AI, social media monitoring and analysis tools produced by PenLink, stingray technology from suppliers such as L3Harris, and cellphone surveillance technologies built by Paragon Solutions. These tools contribute to a mass surveillance ecosystem that appears to operate in conjunction with Palantir-developed platforms and ultimately support enforcement operations conducted by DHS, some of which target U.S. citizens.
“The combination of facial recognition tools, social media surveillance, and large-scale data aggregation systems and applications raise serious concerns about the operational use of personally identifiable information that belongs to individuals who are not suspected of any wrongdoing. Specifically, these technologies are seemingly being weaponized against citizens, journalists, and individuals engaged in constitutionally protected activities, which include lawful assembly and protest,” wrote the lawmakers.
Goldman is demanding that DHS provide information about:
All databases, data analytics programs, and applications currently being utilized by the Department of Homeland Security
All currently active and prior contracts between DHS or any DHS component and Palantir technologies
Government and/or commercial datasets and information implemented into Palantir-developed systems or data applications utilized by DHS for the purpose of immigration enforcement
Safeguards in place to limit the retention of data and to address data privacy concerns
Any data that DHS has collected about individuals peacefully observing, documenting or protesting immigration enforcement operations
DHS’ use of facial recognition tools during immigration enforcement operations
All private contractors that provide data surveillance or analytics technologies to DHS
The letter was also signed by Reps. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Greg Casar (TX-35), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Danny David (IL-07), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Julie Johnson (TX-32), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), John Garamendi (CA-08), Ted Lieu (CA-36), John Larson (CT-01), Angie Craig (MN-02), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Gabe Abo (RI-01), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), and Al Green (TX-09).
The full text of the letter is available here or below:
Dear Secretary Mullin and Acting Director Lyons:
We write to you to demand answers regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS or Department) use of surveillance and data analytics technologies developed by Palantir Technologies that are being utilized to fuel the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement operations.
Public reporting regarding DHS’ data analytics tools and software raise serious concerns about Palantir-developed technologies being used to compile, aggregate, and analyze large volumes of personal data and information. These data-compiling systems reportedly allow DHS personnel to link individual profiles to addresses, phone numbers, devices, and other identifying information across multiple datasets in order to generate leads and identify potential locations of persons sought for immigration enforcement actions.
Even more troubling, Palantir-developed tools are not the only technologies being deployed by your department to fulfill the administration’s mass deportation campaign and daily arrest quotas. Public reporting further indicates that DHS has deployed a range of surveillance technologies that are provided by multiple private contractors. This includes facial recognition systems developed by Clearview AI, social media monitoring and analysis tools produced by PenLink, stingray technology from suppliers such as L3Harris, and cellphone surveillance technologies built by Paragon Solutions. These tools contribute to a mass surveillance ecosystem that appears to operate in conjunction with Palantir-developed platforms and ultimately support enforcement operations conducted by DHS, some of which target U.S. citizens.
During the recent so-called Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, immigration agents used facial recognition technology and other cellphone monitoring tools in public, including instances in which agents scanned the faces of individuals who were either observing or protesting enforcement activities. In documented encounters, individuals who were subject to these scans — and who were later confirmed to be U.S. citizens — reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents informed them they were being recorded using facial recognition technology.
These reports are supported by sworn testimony in a federal lawsuit in Oregon which revealed that ICE agents under oath acknowledged the use of a surveillance application called Elite which assists enforcement operations by identifying neighborhoods and geographical areas where individuals with immigration histories may be located. According to the court testimony, the Elite application was described as functioning “kind of like Google Maps” by displaying where individuals are likely to be located. However, its reliability can be questionable. The agent testified that, “the app could say 100 percent, and it's wrong. The person doesn't live there. And so it's not accurate. It's -- it's a tool that we use that gives you a probability, but there's never -- there's no such thing as 100 percent.” The Court also inquired about where the application pulls its data from, to which the agent testified that, “It pulls from all kinds of sources. Like, it was -- it's a newer app that was actually given to us in ICE.”
The combination of facial recognition tools, social media surveillance, and large-scale data aggregation systems and applications raise serious concerns about the operational use of personally identifiable information that belongs to individuals who are not suspected of any wrongdoing. Specifically, these technologies are seemingly being weaponized against citizens, journalists, and individuals engaged in constitutionally protected activities, which include lawful assembly and protest.
Despite these reports, both former Secretary Noem and Acting ICE Director Lyons stated in their testimonies in Congressional hearings that DHS is/was not maintaining a database:
In a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on February 10, 2026, Acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons was asked about reports that DHS was building or maintaining a database tracking U.S. citizens after video circulated of an ICE agent telling an individual that they would be added to a “little database,” Lyons responded, “I can’t speak for that individual … but I can assure you that there is no database that’s tracking United States citizens.”
In a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on February 12, 2026, Acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons was again asked about DHS maintaining a database of “any kind” which can include facial recognition information, license plate information, addresses, or similar data, Lyons responded, “we don’t have a database.”
In a House Judiciary Committee hearing on March 4, 2026, Secretary Noem was asked whether DHS was creating a database of protesters. After being shown a video of an ICE officer saying he would add someone to a “nice little database,” and that the individual interacting with the office would now be considered a “domestic terrorist,” Noem stated, “we’re not creating a database.”
Congress has a clear and important role in exercising its oversight responsibility to ensure that use of contractor-developed data technologies complies with all relevant federal law while respecting applicable constitutional protections. The reported use of these technologies and their current use raise significant questions about how DHS is using Palantir-developed tools and what safeguards exist, if any, to prevent the misuse and collection of sensitive personal information.
Accordingly, we demand answers to the following questions and requests no later than Friday, April 24th, 2026:
Please identify and describe all databases, data analytics programs, and applications currently being utilized by the Department of Homeland Security and any and of its components —including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)— to support immigration enforcement operations. For each database or information/data system identified, please indicate whether it is developed or maintained by Palantir Technologies or any other private contractor.
Please provide a complete list of all currently active and prior contracts between DHS or any DHS component and Palantir technologies since January 1, 2020. For each contract listed, please include the contract value, performance period, and the specific tasks, applications, or data information systems that were developed or supported directly by Palantir technologies.
What government and/or commercial datasets and information, if any, are implemented into Palantir-developed systems or data applications utilized by DHS for the purpose of immigration enforcement?
What new policies, if any, has DHS enacted to address the concerns raised by the the DHS Inspector General report entitled, “CBP, ICE, and Secret Service Did Not Adhere to Privacy Policies or Develop Sufficient Policies Before Procuring and Using Commercial Telemetry Data,” which outlined, “eight recommendations aimed at improving policies and internal controls related to the use of commercial telemetry data.”
Do any DHS data analytics systems, software, or applications —including those developed by Palantir and other private contractors/companies—collect or retain personally identifiable information that belong to U.S. citizens? If so, please describe the type of information that is collected, and the duration in which such data and information is retained.
What legal authorities does DHS currently rely on to collect and/or retain such data? What safeguards, if any, are in place to limit the retention of such data and to address data privacy concerns?
Does DHS currently use facial recognition tools during immigration enforcement operations? If so, please provide information related to any contracts with vendors or private contractors that develop or supply tools for this purpose. Please describe how and when facial recognition data is stored and whether such data is retained, and for how long it is retained. Please also describe any instances of false positives or mistaken identification that resulted from the use of these technologies.
In the process of conducting immigration enforcement operations, has DHS collected or stored or otherwise processed information about individuals peacefully observing, documenting or protesting immigration enforcement operations? If so, please describe the data that was collected and the circumstances that warranted such collection or processing of personally identifiable information.
Please provide a comprehensive report about the use of the data analytics and immigration enforcement application known as Elite including its purpose, the categories of data and information that is processed by the application, and the current number of DHS officials authorized to use such application to inform their work. Please include all related contract information that led to the creation, development, and use of Elite.
Please provide a list of all private contractors that provide data surveillance or analytics technologies to DHS. For each contractor listed, please provide the technology that is/was developed or supplied, and which DHS personnel are currently authorized to use said technology.
Please provide any relevant memos, guidance, or internal DHS policies that govern the retention, use, and/or processing of data contained by these DHS data analytics programs and applications.
Has the Department conducted assessments, internal or otherwise, regarding the use of Palantir-developed systems and data technologies and other contractor-provided technologies? If so, please provide any documentation regarding these assessments. If not, will you commit to conducting an internal audit and assessment within the next 90 days regarding the use of these data technologies?