How Thomson Reuters Powers ICE and Palantir - Lemmygrad
cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11191434
[https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11191434] > How Thomson Reuters Powers ICE and
Palantir
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> > Thomson Reuters, the media company which is also a data broker, has long
provided underlying personal data for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
tools, according to documents obtained by 404 Media and sources. There are also
indications its data is now part of the Palantir system ICE uses to find which
neighborhoods to target. > > The findings draw a clearer line between Thomson
Reuters’ data business—which can involve selling names, addresses, car
registration information, Social Security numbers, and details on someone’s
ethnicity under the brand name CLEAR—and the specific tools ICE is ingesting the
data into. The news also comes after Thomson Reuters employees sent leadership a
signed letter expressing their unease with the company’s ICE and Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) contracts, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported last
month
[https://www.startribune.com/ice-crackdown-thomson-reuters-eagan-license-plate-data-westlaw-clear/601583754?ref=404media.co].
> > “If these allegations are true, they cut directly against Thomson Reuters’
claims that its products and services are limited to fighting serious crime and
are not facilitating deportations,” Emma Pullman, head of shareholder engagement
and responsible investment for the B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU), told
404 Media. BCGEU is a minority shareholder in Thomson Reuters and has recently
engaged the company concerning its work with ICE, BCGEU said. > > 💡Do you work
at Thomson Reuters, Palantir, or DHS? I would love to hear from you. Using a
non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me
an email at [email protected] [[email protected]]. > > An internal Palantir
wiki
[https://www.404media.co/this-is-palantirs-justification-for-building-ices-master-database/]
404 Media obtained explained Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a part of
ICE that used to be focused on criminal investigations but has now shifted to
immigration enforcement
[https://www.cato.org/blog/ice-has-diverted-over-25000-officers-their-jobs?ref=404media.co],
used a Palantir-built system called FALCON before moving onto an HSI internal
tool. A former Palantir employee has since told 404 Media Thomson Reuters’ CLEAR
specifically was used in that FALCON system. > > In 2025 Palantir said it became
a “more mature partner to ICE”
[https://www.404media.co/leaked-palantirs-plan-to-help-ice-deport-people/] when
the company started work on other systems during Trump’s mass deportation
effort. That included a tool called Enhanced Leads Identification & Targeting
for Enforcement, or ELITE, 404 Media revealed in January
[https://www.404media.co/elite-the-palantir-app-ice-uses-to-find-neighborhoods-to-raid/].
ELITE populates a map with potential deportation targets, brings up a dossier on
each person, and provides a “confidence score” on the person’s current address.
An ICE official testified
[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26493849-12-02-2025-m-j-m-a-v-wamsley-et-al-final/?ref=404media.co]
about using the tool before officials detained more than 30 people which lawyers
have described as a “dragnet.”
[https://www.chronline.com/stories/oregon-lawyers-seek-court-order-to-halt-ice-warrantless-arrests,394264?ref=404media.co]
> > Internal ICE material showed ELITE got these addresses from various sources,
including government agencies such as the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS). The material
[https://www.404media.co/here-is-the-user-guide-for-elite-the-tool-palantir-made-for-ice/]
also said a source of the addresses was “CLEAR.” > > Two Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) sources believe the material refers to Thomson Reuters’ CLEAR. “I
have to think it’s the same CLEAR,” one said. 404 Media granted several sources
in this story anonymity as they weren’t permitted to speak to the press about
these topics. > > ‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to
RaidInternal ICE material and testimony from an official obtained by 404 Media
provides the clearest link yet between the technological infrastructure Palantir
is building for ICE and the agency’s activities on the ground.How Thomson
Reuters Powers ICE and Palantir
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MediaJoseph CoxHow Thomson Reuters Powers ICE and Palantir
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[https://www.404media.co/elite-the-palantir-app-ice-uses-to-find-neighborhoods-to-raid/]
> > Thomson Reuters data is also mentioned in documentation about Mobile
Companion, an app made by Motorola for querying license plate scans. ICE
recently sent a message to all ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO)
staff, who are focused on deportations specifically, about the tool, 404 Media
previously reported
[https://www.404media.co/this-app-lets-ice-track-vehicles-and-owners-across-the-country/].
The material sent to ICE said users can further enhance their investigations by
combining Motorola’s license plate reader network with Thomson Reuters’ data.
“Thomson Reuters CLEAR combines comprehensive public and proprietary data with
nationwide license plate data from Motorola Solutions’ secure shared data
network to help take vehicle-involved investigations to a more precise level,”
the material said. > > 404 Media made multiple attempts to get Thomson Reuters
to comment for this story. Originally, Thomson Reuters said it would provide
information “on background” over email, but then noted the background
information would be material “you can use to inform your article but not
attribute to Thomson Reuters.” 404 Media explained that, like many publications,
“on background” to us means we could paraphrase the information and attribute it
to the company. Thomson Reuters then said, “We do not agree with your definition
of ‘on background’ and therefore are unable to address the misstatements we
believe you may make in your story” and ultimately refused to comment. > > In
procurement documents available online
[https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/7030ebced0ef45a5b6e6d9489a45ec32/view?ref=404media.co],
DHS says “CLEAR is vital to the mission-essential, time sensitive investigative
work of several DHS Components as it makes it easier to locate people, assets,
businesses, affiliations, and other critical facts.” > > “Without this data, DHS
would not be able to identify targets associated with criminal enterprise,
terrorism, and immigration fraud as rapidly,” the documents add. > > Those
documents show CLEAR’s data can include a person’s name, address, date of birth,
phone records, driver license, motor vehicle registrations, Social Security
number, marital status, household information such as their household members,
and details on their public social media. > > In March the Minnesota Star
Tribune reported
[https://www.startribune.com/ice-crackdown-thomson-reuters-eagan-license-plate-data-westlaw-clear/601583754?ref=404media.co]
it had spoken to half a dozen Thomson Reuters employees mostly based in Eagan,
home to one of the company’s largest U.S. offices, and where many of the
employees’ jobs relate to CLEAR. “People are worried about the role their job
has played in what has happened,” one employee reportedly said, referring to
Operation Metro Surge, the DHS operation focused on Minnesota in which officials
killed Renée Good and Alex Pretti. The outlet reported around 180 workers sent
Thomson Reuters leadership a letter expressing their unease and asking about the
company’s supervision of its DHS and ICE contracts. The New York Times later
reported
[https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/technology/thomson-reuters-ice-minnesota.html?ref=404media.co]
more than 200 employees had signed the letter. > > The Minnesota Star Tribune
also quoted an internal Thomson Reuters message from Kevin Appold, the company’s
vice president for projects and U.S. public records. “We prohibit customers from
using CLEAR to identify or locate undocumented immigrants who have not committed
crimes,” it said. > > — > > From 404 Media [https://www.404media.co/] via this
RSS feed [https://www.404media.co/rss]
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