DHS Used Palantir System to Profile First Amendment Observers

Department of Homeland Security agents compiled extensive dossiers on people observing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the field, storing the records in an Investigative Case Management system designed and managed by Palantir Technologies, according to a report published by Wired. The disclosures stem from a proposed class action lawsuit brought by field observers in state courts in Maine, which was placed under seal in September before a redacted version was released. The lawsuit alleges that DHS agents drove past protesters and observers’ homes to intimidate them, and that a DHS agent identified in court documents as Agent J.C. created ICM profiles on six individuals. Government counts cited by Wired put the total at eight profiles. J.C. allegedly tagged two people filmed in a parking lot as a threat to law enforcement and a professional protester. The suit states that J.C. then sent photographs of those two individuals to a Customs and Border Protection officer for facial recognition checks inside an application called Mobile Query. JoAnna Suriani, an attorney for Protect Democracy representing the plaintiffs, told Wired, “The government is treating people who exercise their First Amendment rights and seek to hold it accountable as criminal suspects, and that’s what we’re asking the court to stop.”

Palantir Wins Millions for Government Tracking Software

The software underpinning the tracking system, Palantir’s Investigative Case Management platform, is used by Homeland Security Investigations to track case files. Public contracting records show the platform has won nearly $126 million in government awards to maintain and expand since 2022 alone, including a $30 million contract to develop an environment called ImmigrationOS.

According to the lawsuit, Agent J.C. also ran a plaintiff’s license plate through the LexisNexis database Accurint after that individual photographed an arrest in Portland, Maine. J.C. then allegedly called the plaintiff’s spouse and threatened that individuals who participated in similar actions in the future might be added to a domestic terrorism watchlist.

Federal Officials Reject Class Action Allegations

Federal officials have rejected the allegations made in the Maine class action litigation. A DHS spokesperson told Wired that the claims are “meritless” and asserted that “the underlying lawsuit is based on the lie that there is a database of ‘domestic terrorists’ run by DHS.”

In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, government attorneys argued that the incidents cited by the plaintiffs were isolated events prohibited by existing DHS policy. The government’s filing contended that the actions did not constitute unconstitutional retaliation, meaning the agents involved should not face liability.