Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti

[highplainsdem]

https://www.wired.com/story/palantir-ice-dhs-alex-pretti-killing-workers-slack-minneapolis/

After federal agents shot and killed Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday, Palantir workers pressed for answers from leadership on the company’s work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—and many questioned whether Palantir should be involved with the agency at all. Leadership defended its work as in part improving “ICE’s operational effectiveness.”

Internal Slack messages reviewed by WIRED reveal growing frustration within Palantir over its relationship with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and in particular, ICE’s enforcement and investigations teams. In response, Palantir’s privacy and civil liberties team published an update to the company’s internal wiki detailing its work on federal immigration enforcement, arguing that the “technology is making a difference in mitigating risks while enabling targeted outcomes.”

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After Bowman linked out to the updated wiki on Slack on Sunday, some workers asked additional questions about the capabilities of Palantir’s products and services and whether ICE could use them beyond the scope of the company’s contracts. When one worker asked whether ICE could build its own workflows outside of the company’s contract, like pulling data from outside sources, the response was blunt: “Yes, we do not take the position of policing the use of our platform for every workflow,” Jain said. He acknowledged that Palantir builds in “strong controls,” but “that doesn’t mean there won’t be bad apples, mistakes or other issues that lead to adverse outcomes. Those have to be governed by the law and oversight mechanisms within the system—just like a commercial customer.”

Pulling data from outside sources, whether that be from other agencies or commercially available third-party data, would expand DHS’s ability to surveil migrants and citizens alike.

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Too many tech companies have been providing harmful tech to unethical governments and agencies. It's important that their employees resist and expose what's going on.

[UpInArms]

1. Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel's Secretive AI Empire

Does Peter Thiel Still Own Palantir?

Yes, Peter Thiel is still a significant shareholder of Palantir Technologies. As of early 2025, he holds approximately 4.5% of the company's shares. While he has sold off a portion of his initial stake over time, he remains one of the largest individual shareholders and an influential figure due to his role as co-founder and chairman.
What Is Peter Thiel's Role at Palantir?

Peter Thiel is a co-founder of Palantir Technologies, which he established in 2003 with Alex Karp, Stephen Cohen, and others. He currently serves as the chairman of the board. This position gives him substantial oversight and influence over the company's strategic direction, particularly through a dual-class share structure that gives founders and early investors outsized voting power.

[newdeal2]

2. The employees know

Palantir, its founders and execs are pretty evil. If they are bothered by it, they need to force a change or take their talents elsewhere.

[Lonestarblue]

3. Trump has turned over all private personal information on US citizens to Palantir to create one big database.

I assume the purpose is to threaten citizens who do not support Trump and Republicans.

[2naSalit]

4. That is my guess.