In its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Palantir says that increased regulation of immigration may impact the company’s ability to hire the talent it needs. At the same time, Palantir provides the technological infrastructure for the Trump administration’s mass deportation mission.
As 404 Media has shown, Palantir considers Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “mature” partner, and is working on a tool called ELITE that ICE uses to find neighborhoods to raid.
“Further, if we are not able to recruit, hire, or retain the talent we need because of increased regulation of immigration or work visas, including limitations placed on the number of visas granted, changes to application processes or fees, limitations on the type of work performed or location in which the work can be performed, and new or higher minimum salary requirements, it could be more difficult to staff our personnel on customer engagements and could increase our costs,” Palantir’s latest 10-K, filed on Tuesday, reads. A 10-K is an annual report public companies are required to produce.
“Additionally, laws and regulations, such as restrictive immigration laws, may limit our ability to recruit outside of the United States. We seek to retain and motivate existing personnel through our compensation practices, company culture, and career development opportunities. If we fail to attract new personnel or to retain our current personnel, our business and operations could be harmed,” the filing continues.
In a leaked Palantir wiki 404 Media previously obtained, the company said it believed its work with ICE is “intended to promote government efficiency, transparency, and accountability.” The company acknowledged that there would “be failures” in ICE’s removal operations. At the time that was written, the Trump administration had deported more than 200 people to an El Salvadorian mega prison. Those included Kilmar Abrego Garcia who was deported by mistake, and many who had no apparent criminal record.
Listing immigration crackdowns as a potential risk factor has become somewhat boilerplate on 10-K forms under the Trump administration, and tech companies in particular have been worried about restrictions on H1-B visas, which many tech companies use to hire workers. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is changing the H-1B visa system from a random lottery to “a process that gives greater weight to those with higher skills,” DHS says. But there is an inherent irony in Palantir listing the immigration crackdown that it is powering as being a potential risk for the company.
Palantir has also worked on ELITE, which stands for Enhanced Leads Identification & Targeting for Enforcement. 404 Media found, using internal ICE material, public procurement records, and sworn testimony from an ICE official, that the tool was connected to Palantir and that ICE was using it to target neighborhoods. The tool populates a map with potential deportation targets, brings up a dossier on each person if clicked, and provides a “confidence score” on the person’s current address. Those addresses are sourced from various government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the material showed.
The Trump administration has also “delegalized” various immigrant groups, meaning they were here legally before the administration stripped them of their status; detained immigrants at court hearings who were following the legal immigration process and then deported them; and halted visa processing from various countries.
Palantir did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
