THIRTY-FOUR MEMBERS OF Congress are demanding that the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement provide detailed information about how tools developed by Palantir and “a range of surveillance companies” are fueling Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown, according to a letter shared exclusively with WIRED.
On Thursday, the lawmakers sent the letter to DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE secretary Todd Lyons. It outlines significant concerns they have about how DHS uses software developed by Palantir, as well as facial recognition from Clearview AI, social media surveillance tools from PenLink, cell tower simulators from L3Harris, and and cellphone surveillance tech built by Paragon Solutions.
The lawmakers claimed that the suite of tools could be used to “compile, aggregate, and analyze large volumes of personal data and information,” and they questioned “what safeguards exist, if any, to prevent the misuse and collection of sensitive personal information.”
“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 letter reads. It demands a response from ICE and DHS no later than April 24.
