Palantir CEO Alex Karp told CNBC that protesters critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement "should be out there protesting for more Palantir," arguing his company's software enforces Fourth Amendment data protections.
The claim is notable given the timing. Federal procurement records show Palantir has received $88 million in ICE contracts since January 2025. The largest: a $30 million April contract for "ImmigrationOS," a system providing "real-time visibility" on deportation targets. A $29.9 million task order followed in September for ongoing support.
According to reporting from 404 Media, Palantir's tools populate maps with potential deportation targets and generate individual dossiers. The company's Investigative Case Management platform pools data from multiple law enforcement agencies, including fingerprints and facial recognition, analyzed in real time.
Karp's argument to shareholders: Palantir's platform is "equally capable of preventing an unconstitutional intrusion into the private lives of citizens by the state" as it is at preventing terror attacks. He frames this as a "rallying cry for progressives."
Civil liberties groups see it differently. The concern, as USA Today reported: it remains unclear how systems like ImmigrationOS would be limited solely to undocumented immigrants versus expanding to target any American.
Palantir faces internal tension too. Current and former employees have pushed back on ICE and Israel contracts. Karp told CNBC in March 2024 that some staff left over his pro-Israel views, and he expects more departures.
The company's government footprint extends beyond ICE. Palantir began working with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in October 2025 on marriage fraud detection. The UK government represents the company's second-largest customer at $920 million in contracts.
For context: private companies received $22 billion in ICE and Customs and Border Protection contracts over the past year. Palantir's $88 million represents roughly 0.4% of that total, though its role in building core infrastructure makes the raw dollar figure less significant than the platform's reach across agencies.