Palantir just delivered a pretty striking warning to the Securities and Exchange Commission, raising eyebrows because of the timing and the company’s role in immigration enforcement.
In its latest filing with the SEC, Palantir says tougher immigration rules could make it harder to hire the skilled workers it needs. That concern is showing up in the company’s most recent 10-K, which it filed Tuesday. A 10-K is an annual report that public companies are required to produce.
The company wrote, “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.”
It continued with another warning that points directly to immigration restrictions. “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. That might sound like standard corporate risk-speak, but the twist is that Palantir is also providing technological infrastructure to support the Trump administration’s mass deportation mission.
Palantir considers Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “mature” partner. The outlet has also reported that the company is working on a tool called ELITE that ICE uses to identify neighbourhoods to raid.
Palantir has said it believes its work with ICE is “intended to promote government efficiency, transparency, and accountability.” At the same time, it acknowledged there would “be failures” in ICE’s removal operations. When that statement was written, the Trump administration had already deported more than 200 people to an El Salvadorian mega prison.
That group reportedly included Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported by mistake, along with many people who had no apparent criminal record. Immigration crackdowns have become a common risk factor listed in 10-K filings under the Trump administration, especially for tech companies that rely on H-1 B visas to hire workers.
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. Still, Palantir’s warning stands out because it is essentially flagging the same immigration crackdown it is helping power.
Palantir has also worked on ELITE, which stands for Enhanced Leads Identification & Targeting for Enforcement. Using internal ICE materials, public procurement records, and sworn testimony from an ICE official, it was found that the tool was connected to Palantir and used to target neighbourhoods.
The tool reportedly fills a map with potential deportation targets, pulls up dossiers, and assigns a “confidence score” for where someone currently lives. Those addresses can come from multiple government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has also “delegalized” immigrant groups, detained immigrants at court hearings before deporting them, and halted visa processing from various countries.