ICE to Pay LexisNexis Millions for Data to Feed to Palantir
LexisNexis sells a massive amount of data to law enforcement, including ICE. New records indicate ICE wants to feed that data into a Palantir system.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency plans to pay LexisNexis millions of dollars for continued access to data that will be used to feed into a Palantir platform, according to newly published procurement records. This data will assist ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in deportation efforts. The records reveal the types of information ICE intends to process through the Palantir platform.
As reported by 404 Media in January, ELITE, a system developed by Palantir for ICE, helps identify neighborhoods to target by compiling data from private suppliers and government agencies. In July, ICE arrested more than 51,000 people, many of whom were apprehended at airports. The new data agreement will support "all aspects of ICE screening and vetting, lead development, and criminal analysis activities," and include identifying potential fraud before it can materialize and detecting crime involving immigration and customs law exploitation or attempted exploitation.
ICE anticipates paying LexisNexis $6.7 million for this service. LexisNexis has provided data to ICE across multiple administrations, and this new procurement record confirms the agency's intention to continue access to LexID and Accurint Virtual Crime Center. LexID and Accurint are tools that combine a vast amount of data from over 10,000 sources to help law enforcement locate individuals.
The document specifies that the database must be able to interface with ICE applications such as the Palantir platform, PenLink, and ICE Data Analytics. PenLink, a company ICE contracts with, offers social media monitoring tools and Webloc for tracking mobile phone locations in entire neighborhoods. While the specific details of how LexisNexis' data will be integrated into ELITE or other Palantir platforms are unclear, the document lists several AI-related requirements, including an AI-driven identification system and a facial recognition system capable of high-accuracy facial matching across diverse sources. LexisNexis, Palantir, and ICE have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Written by urgent.news from 404 Media's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
