Lawsuit alleges DHS used Palantir system to compile protester dossiers
Unsealed court documents allege files on people observing or protesting ICE included photos and licence plate numbers. DHS disputes the claims.
A class action lawsuit over a January Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Maine alleges that Department of Homeland Security agents used Palantir’s Investigative Case Management database to compile files on people accused of observing or protesting ICE.
The allegations appear in a partially unsealed court filing made public on Friday, according to Engadget, which cited Wired and the filing. The reported dossiers included photographs and licence plate numbers.
The lawsuit also alleges that agents tracked and intimidated observers and protesters. In one reported example, an agent warned a plaintiff that people involved in similar activity might be added to a domestic terrorism watchlist.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers argue the alleged activity could chill First Amendment rights. That is their assessment; the claims have not been established as fact.
A DHS spokesperson called the case “meritless” and denied that the department maintains a database that labels and tracks domestic terrorists.
