- By Indivisible Denver
- February 14, 2026
- 0 Comments
Love Not Fear: Stop Palantir
A Community Protest at Palantir Headquarters, Cherry Creek, Colorado
“I’m here for my grandchildren.”
That’s what one protester’s sign read as concerned citizens gathered outside Palantir Technologies’ Cherry Creek headquarters. Armed with Hershey’s kisses and a simple message—”Kiss Off Palantir”—Colorado residents are saying enough is enough to a company turning our most private data into a surveillance dragnet.
What Is Palantir Doing?
Palantir Technologies, the Denver-based software giant co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, has become the federal government’s go-to contractor for building what critics call a surveillance nightmare: massive databases that connect Americans’ most sensitive personal information into searchable, AI-driven systems.
Since Trump took office, Palantir has received more than $113 million in federal government spending, including contracts with the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon.
But it’s not just the dollar amounts that have privacy advocates alarmed—it’s what Palantir is building.
The “Mega-Database” That Threatens Every American
Senators Ron Wyden and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, along with eight other members of Congress, have questioned Palantir about reports that the company is helping the IRS build a government-wide, searchable “mega-database” connecting sensitive tax and other data the government holds about American citizens.
Building such a database likely violates multiple federal laws limiting the accessing and sharing of Americans’ private information, including the Privacy Act and tax privacy laws.
Think about the information you’ve shared with your government: your tax returns, your medical records, your student loan details, your bank account information. Now imagine all of that data—and more—combined into a single searchable system accessible to federal agencies.
“The unprecedented possibility of a searchable, ‘mega-database’ of tax returns and other data that will potentially be shared with or accessed by other federal agencies is a surveillance nightmare,” lawmakers wrote to Palantir CEO Alex Karp.
Medicaid Data Used to Hunt Families
Perhaps the most chilling revelation: Palantir is working on a tool for ICE that 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. The tool receives peoples’ addresses from the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes Medicaid data.
Let that sink in. People seeking healthcare for their children, managing chronic illnesses, or getting basic medical care are having that information weaponized against them.
ICE has partnered with Palantir to use artificial intelligence and data mining to identify, track, and deport suspected noncitizens, with ICE paying Palantir $30 million for a platform called “ImmigrationOS”.
Experts warn this could have a chilling effect on healthcare, discouraging immigrant families from seeking adequate coverage or treatment.
From Your Doctor to Your Deportation
Palantir’s systems pull data from across government databases—including passport records, Social Security files, IRS tax data, and even license-plate reader data. The system helps ICE streamline decisions on who should be removed first, tracks whether individuals are voluntarily leaving the United States, and streamlines the deportation process from identification to removal.
This isn’t about targeting “violent criminals,” as the government claims. Mistakes in automated systems can have outsized effects, depriving people of their liberty through detention, loss of legal status, or wrongful deportation.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has been sounding the alarm, warning that Palantir is helping consolidate all of the government’s information into a single searchable, AI-driven interface, and that the company has a shaky-at-best record on privacy and human rights.
A Tool for Authoritarianism
The concerns go far beyond immigration enforcement.
Once put in use, such systems are hard to dismantle, creating new expectations for speed and efficiency that make it politically costly to revert to slower, more manual processes—locking in not only the technology but also the expanded scope of surveillance it enables.
Government agencies could use Palantir’s capabilities to track suspected criminals or terrorists but also to manage migration flows, monitor and suppress protests, and enforce public health measures.
No American voted for this system, nor has there been meaningful public debate about its implications. Ordinary citizens whose data fuels the system have no clear way to inspect their profiles, challenge inaccuracies, or opt out.
As one civil rights lawyer put it: “If a private company working hand-in-hand with the executive branch can monitor, profile, and influence the population without their knowledge or consent, then the distinctions between public and private power collapse. We cease to be citizens and become subjects of an algorithmic regime”.
Even Palantir Employees Are Concerned
The moral crisis isn’t lost on everyone at Palantir.
Thirteen former Palantir employees signed a letter urging Palantir to stop its endeavors with the Trump administration, with one former engineer saying the problem is not with the company’s technology but with how the administration intends to use it.
Current Palantir employees have expressed worry about collecting so much sensitive information in one place, noting that the company’s security practices are only as good as the people using them and expressing concerns about reputational damage because of the company’s work with the Trump administration.
The Slippery Slope to Social Control
China’s social credit system began the same way—harmless data integration followed by scoring mechanisms—but it’s now used for behavioral control. Surveillance infrastructure does not remain neutral. It becomes a machine through which power is exercised.
Privacy experts warn this isn’t theoretical. Palantir’s Gotham platform enables law enforcement and government analysts to connect vast, disparate datasets, build intelligence profiles, and search for individuals based on characteristics as granular as a tattoo or an immigration status, transforming historically static records into a fluid web of intelligence and surveillance.
Why We Protest: Love Over Fear
The protesters gathering outside Palantir’s Cherry Creek headquarters aren’t anti-technology or anti-safety. They’re pro-democracy, pro-privacy, and pro-human dignity.
The sign that read “I’m here for my grandchildren” captures it perfectly. This is about the kind of country we’re leaving to the next generation.
Do we want a future where:
Seeking medical care means risking deportation?
Filing your taxes feeds a government surveillance system?
Applying for student loans creates a permanent digital dossier?
Your every movement is tracked, scored, and filed away?
Or do we want a future built on trust, where government serves the people rather than surveilling them?
What’s at Stake
In a democracy, anonymity is a critical safeguard. It allows whistleblowers to speak. It protects journalists’ sources. Palantir’s systems threaten to erode these fundamental protections.
Civil liberties groups warn that combining data from numerous federal systems into a single analytic platform could allow future administrations to misuse personal information, particularly without new legal safeguards.
The question isn’t whether Palantir’s technology is sophisticated—it is. The question is whether we as a free society should allow a private company to build the infrastructure of mass surveillance for our government.
Join the Movement
Love, not fear. Community, not surveillance. Democracy, not authoritarianism.
These are the values that brought protesters to Palantir’s doorstep, armed with chocolate kisses and signs that speak truth to power.
The protest continues. Will you join?
Take Action
Contact your representatives:
*[1.5em] Demand transparency about Palantir’s government contracts
*[1.5em] Support legislation to protect data privacy
*[1.5em] Call for independent oversight of AI surveillance systems
Spread the word:
*[1.5em] Share this post
*[1.5em] Talk to your neighbors about data privacy
*[1.5em] Educate your community about Palantir’s role in government surveillance
Support organizations fighting back:
*[1.5em] Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
*[1.5em] American Immigration Council
*[1.5em] American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
*[1.5em] No Tech for ICE campaign
Attend protests and community meetings:
*[1.5em] Make your voice heard
*[1.5em] Connect with others who share your concerns
*[1.5em] Build the movement for digital rights and privacy
We cease to be citizens and become subjects of an algorithmic regime.
That’s the future Palantir is building—unless we stop it.
The time to act is now. The place to start is here, in Colorado, at the headquarters of a company that has chosen profit over privacy, surveillance over freedom.
Love not fear. Stop Palantir.
Source Material for Palantir Protest Blog Post
For more information about Palantir’s government contracts and surveillance activities, see reporting from The New York Times, 404 Media, The Washington Post, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and congressional letters from Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.