Four Days After Protest at Palantir's HQ, Giant Data Company Renews Contract with ICE

A mere four days after they blocked the entrance to data aggregating company Palantir's cafeteria, protesters heard the bad news. On August 20 a report that ICE had renewed its contract with Palantir Technologies splashed across tech and business news websites.

Demonstrators protested at Palantir’s cafeteria ahead of the announcement saying Palantir technology enables unethical policies, including the separation of migrant families. Palantir has been shown to be intimately involved in workplace raids like the one led by ICE recently that arrested almost 700 people in Mississippi. The company has faced frequent protests and direct actions calling on it to shut down operations and drop ICE contracts.

The Coalition to Close the Concentration Camps-Bay Area quickly broadcast their reaction to this latest development. The alliance of over 20 migrant rights and activists organizations condemned the renewal of the contract and called on all those that denounce and rebuke Palantir’s escalation to immediately mobilize at Palantir Headquarters in Palo Alto this Friday at 4 PM for an emergency action.

Last Friday’s direct action in which the Raging Grannies stood for 2 hours in front of the company’s cafeteria doors was emboldened by loud chanting and impassioned speeches from coalition member organizations including Anakbayan Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America and Oakland Privacy. On July 12 between 600 and 800 people bore down on Palantir’s headquarters in downtown Palo Alto in reaction to ICE workplace raids.