Building the search layer over Americans' data

Palantir's federal contracts nearly doubled to about $970.5 million in 2025, with multi-year ceilings awarded that year exceeding $13.7 billion. Its software runs at the IRS, ICE, USCIS, HHS, CIA, and the Pentagon. Democratic lawmakers requested an investigation. No independent audit of the targeting systems' error rates has been published.

In April 2025 ICE finalized a $30 million sole-source contract with Palantir to build ImmigrationOS, the 'Immigration Lifecycle Operating System,' to identify and prioritize people for removal, track self-deportations with near real-time visibility, and streamline deportation logistics. ICE justified skipping competitive bidding on the ground that Palantir was the only source capable of building it, having been embedded in ICE systems since 2013. Reporting indicates the system draws on data from the IRS, Social Security, passport databases, and license plate readers. Palantir later took a contract with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as well, placing it on both the enforcement and benefits sides of the immigration system.

The reach extends well beyond immigration. Palantir engineers embedded at the IRS to help build what sources described as a 'mega API' unifying the agency's data into a single searchable hub, and the company held talks with the Social Security Administration and the Department of Education about adopting its Foundry platform while already working with HHS and the Pentagon. Critics warned that linking tax, medical, financial, and immigration records across agencies exceeds statutory authority and risks violating constitutional privacy protections. Palantir's federal contracts nearly doubled to roughly $970.5 million in 2025. The IRS data-sharing agreement with ICE, found unlawful by a federal court, is documented separately at SDA-03.

Palantir denies the characterization. Akash Jain, president of its federal arm, wrote that 'Palantir is not building a master database, and Palantir is neither conducting nor enabling mass surveillance of American citizens,' and the company has said its platforms carry indelible audit logs that make them poor tools for abuse. Rep. Jamie Raskin, who with other Democratic lawmakers requested an investigation into the company's ties to senior Trump officials, said of ImmigrationOS: 'We don't know completely what's happening.' Sen. Ron Wyden's office said senators retain serious concerns about the company's relationship with the IRS. No public information exists on the system's error rates, and no independent audit of its targeting decisions has been published.

Documented; federal contract records, agency reporting, and congressional oversight letters

No court has ruled the arrangement unlawful. Critics including members of Congress argue the cross-agency consolidation exceeds statutory authority; Palantir denies building a master database or enabling mass surveillance

2025-04 onward