ICE deploys Palantir AI to surveil 33 million legal residents

On 2025-03-15, the Trump administration published plans to collect social media identifiers for more than 33 000 000 people applying for permanent residence or adjustment of status (Brennan Center for Justice, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/us-ai-driven-catch-and-revoke-initiative-threatens-first-amendment-rights).

In the three months following President Trump’s executive order, over 1 500 foreign students had their visas altered or revoked without explanation (Inside Higher Ed student visa tracking, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/global/international-students-us/2025/04/21/five-key-takeaways-tracking-student-visa).

Congress reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, allowing warrantless surveillance by compelling businesses to provide data without a traditional warrant (Congress.gov — H.R. 7888 RISAA, Section 702 reauthorization signed April 22, 2024, https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/7888).

The US State Department’s “Catch and Revoke” program uses AI to scan social media and revoke visas of foreign nationals who appear to support Hamas or other designated terror groups (Brennan Center — Catch and Revoke analysis, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/us-ai-driven-catch-and-revoke-initiative-threatens-first-amendment-rights).

The Department of Homeland Security created a task force to monitor online activities of foreign students to find grounds for visa revocation (NBC News DHS task force report, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/dhs-task-force-scouring-foreign-students-social-media-rcna198532).

Chinese hackers in the Salt Typhoon campaign accessed customer data systems at Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Lumen Technologies, exploiting interfaces built for US domestic intelligence (EFF Salt Typhoon report, https://www.eff.org/wp/eff-transition-memo-incoming-trump-administration).

Executive Order 14093 (“Prohibition on Use by the United States Government of Commercial Spyware that Poses Risks to National Security”) was issued in Mar. 2023 and may be reversed by the Trump administration (EFF spyware prohibition, https://www.eff.org/wp/eff-transition-memo-incoming-trump-administration).

Data brokers collect, analyze, and share personal data with law enforcement without individuals’ knowledge, undermining privacy and due process (Brennan Center — DHS social media monitoring programs, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/us-ai-driven-catch-and-revoke-initiative-threatens-first-amendment-rights).

Ubiquitous monitoring of public speech creates a chilling effect on free expression by reducing people’s willingness to communicate freely (Brennan Center — chilling effect on free expression, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/us-ai-driven-catch-and-revoke-initiative-threatens-first-amendment-rights).