A senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement official revealed last week that ICE agents now carry a list of approximately 20 million people on their iPhones through Palantir's data systems, dramatically increasing the speed and success rate of immigration enforcement operations, according to attendees at the Border Security Expo held in Phoenix, Arizona.
Matthew Elliston, assistant director of Law Enforcement Systems and Analysis at ICE, made the disclosure during the Border Security Expo in Phoenix last week — a two-day industry conference where technology companies pitch surveillance and enforcement tools to federal agencies.
Elliston told attendees that Palantir's platform has transformed how ICE agents identify and locate individuals targeted for arrest. According to four people who attended the conference and spoke with 404 Media, Elliston stated that the system has lifted ICE's rate of successfully locating a target from approximately 27 percent to just under 80 percent — nearly tripling the agency's operational effectiveness.
The mobile system does more than identify individual targets. According to conference attendees, Elliston explained that once an agent is directed to a location, the system can also surface information on nearby individuals who may be lower-priority targets, enabling agents to make additional arrests in the same area.
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have generally declined to answer journalists' questions about their use of Palantir's technology. However, senior officials were considerably more open at the Border Security Expo, which is not typically covered by mainstream press.
The disclosures arrive amid scrutiny of ICE's enforcement methods. Data from TRAC Reports for April showed that 70.8 percent of people held in ICE detention — approximately 42,722 individuals — had no criminal conviction. ICE has also faced criticism following incidents in which individuals were wrongfully detained, and separate reporting has raised questions about use of force during operations.
The Trump administration has sought to recalibrate its public posture on mass deportation rhetoric following a series of high-profile controversies, though enforcement operations have continued.
Among the conference attendees who spoke to 404 Media were Kenny Morris, a campaigns strategist at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Action Center for Corporate Accountability, and Dov Baum, director of the same organisation — a Quaker advocacy group that has been critical of corporate involvement in immigration enforcement.
Palantir, the data analytics company co-founded by Peter Thiel, has held federal government contracts for years and has expanded its work with DHS and ICE under the current administration. The company has not publicly commented on the specific claims made at the conference.
The officials' comments, as 404 Media noted, may need to be interpreted with some caution given the context of an industry conference where agencies often emphasise capabilities to potential vendors. Nevertheless, they represent the most specific public accounting to date of how Palantir's systems are being operationalised within ICE's daily enforcement activities.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The disclosure reveals the scale and operational depth of Palantir's integration with ICE at a level not previously confirmed publicly, with 20 million people effectively profiled and accessible on field agents' devices.
- The near-tripling of target location success rates suggests AI-assisted data systems are materially changing immigration enforcement outcomes — raising urgent questions about accuracy, due process, and the rights of people who may be incorrectly flagged.
- With over 70 percent of current ICE detainees holding no criminal conviction, expanded targeting capabilities could accelerate wrongful detentions if underlying data contains errors or biases.
Background
Palantir Technologies has held contracts with US federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, since at least the Obama administration. The company's core product aggregates data from multiple sources — including commercial data brokers, law enforcement databases, and government records — to build detailed profiles of individuals.
Under the Trump administration's second term, ICE enforcement has intensified significantly, with the administration setting ambitious deportation targets. Palantir's role expanded accordingly, with the company reportedly providing a platform called DOGE-ICE that integrated new data streams and enhanced agents' mobile access to targeting information.
Civil liberties organisations, including the ACLU and AFSC, have long raised concerns about the opacity of Palantir's government contracts and the lack of public oversight over how such databases are compiled, maintained, and used. The Border Security Expo, held annually, serves as a commercial marketplace for enforcement technology — and has historically been less scrutinised than formal congressional or regulatory proceedings.
Key Perspectives
ICE and DHS: Agency officials view Palantir's platform as a legitimate and effective law enforcement tool that improves operational efficiency and helps agents prioritise targets. The near-tripling of location success rates is presented internally as a significant capability gain.
Civil liberties advocates (AFSC and others): Organisations attending the conference as monitors argue that the system dramatically expands the surveillance state's reach, increases the risk of wrongful detention for millions of people with no criminal record, and operates with minimal public transparency or judicial oversight.
Critics/Skeptics: Data accuracy is a central concern — commercial and government databases routinely contain errors, outdated information, or misidentifications. A system that directs agents to a location and then surfaces nearby secondary targets raises particular due process concerns, as proximity rather than individual suspicion could drive arrests. The context of an industry conference also means official claims about capability may be partially promotional.
What to Watch
- Whether Congress or federal courts move to scrutinise the legal basis for maintaining and deploying a 20-million-person targeting database, particularly regarding Fourth Amendment protections.
- Upcoming contract renewal or expansion announcements between Palantir and DHS/ICE, which would signal the long-term trajectory of this technology partnership.
- Litigation arising from wrongful detentions that could expose how Palantir-generated data was used in specific enforcement decisions, potentially forcing public disclosure of system methodology.