According to Fortune, Palantir has quietly begun work on a new tech platform for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency that recently referred 42 cases to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in just nine days during an operation in September. The contract, for a platform dubbed “VOWS” (vetting of wedding-based schemes), started at the end of October and is valued at less than $100,000, with an estimated completion date of December 9. The deal marks a new relationship between Palantir and USCIS, though Palantir has had contracts with the related agency ICE since at least 2011. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow recently stated the agency is “declaring an all-out war on immigration fraud,” and the contract appears focused on investigating marriage fraud within applications for green cards, work permits, and other family-based petitions.
Small Contract, Big Implications
Here’s the thing: that $100k price tag is basically a rounding error for a company like Palantir. It’s a classic “Phase 0” deal—exploratory, proof-of-concept stuff. But in the government tech world, that’s often how the foot gets in the door. You do a small study or build a prototype, and if the agency likes it, you’re suddenly the incumbent vendor for the multi-million dollar, multi-year implementation contract that follows. So while the dollar amount is tiny, the strategic move is huge. It formally pulls Palantir’s data-mining and pattern-recognition tools deeper into the front-end of the immigration system, the service-oriented USCIS, not just the enforcement arm at ICE.
The ICE Connection Deepens
And that connection to ICE is the whole ball game. This isn’t Palantir working with, say, the National Weather Service. This is them building a tool for an agency that is actively collaborating with ICE on operations like “Operation Twin Shield,” which directly led to referrals for detention and deportation. The “VOWS” platform, focused on marriage fraud, directly supports USCIS’s recent policy shifts requiring more intrusive evidence and stricter interviews for marriage-based green cards. So you have to ask: is this a “service” tool, or an “enforcement” tool in disguise? The line is getting incredibly blurry, and Palantir is now embedded on both sides of it.
Scrutiny and Backlash Are Guaranteed
Look, Palantir is no stranger to controversy. CEO Alex Karp leans into it. But this move is going to pour gasoline on the existing fire. Employee backlash over the ICE contracts has been a real issue for them. And Karp’s recent comments at the DealBook Summit were… revealing. When asked about family separations, he said, “Of course I don’t like that,” but then immediately pivoted to praising President Trump’s performance on immigration and “re-establishing the deterrent capacity of America.” He’s making the company’s political alignment crystal clear. This new USCIS contract is another brick in that wall. It directly supports the administration’s hardline stance, and it will be seen as Palantir doubling down on a partnership that many find morally reprehensible.
Where This Is Heading
So what’s next? Basically, expect this “VOWS” pilot to expand. If it’s deemed successful, the funding will grow and the platform’s scope will widen. It’s a trajectory we’ve seen before. It also further cements Palantir as *the* data backbone for Homeland Security’s immigration apparatus, from initial application to potential deportation—a frighteningly comprehensive role for a single, secretive company. For critics, it’s a nightmare scenario of a privatized surveillance state targeting vulnerable populations. For the administration and its supporters, it’s just efficient governance. One thing’s for sure: the quiet “Phase 0” is over. The scrutiny on this deal, and Palantir’s role in general, just entered a new, more intense phase.
