Palantir Technologies—ICE used Palantir tool to access Medicaid data of 80 million patients for immigration enforcement
In January 2026, reporting revealed that ICE was using a Palantir-built tool called ELITE that taps Medicaid data to identify and arrest people for deportation. The tool maps potential targets and provides 'confidence scores' for individuals' current addresses. A data-sharing agreement between ICE and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave ICE access to personal data of nearly 80 million Medicaid patients. The Electronic Frontier Foundation challenged the use of healthcare data for immigration enforcement, arguing patients never consented to their health-related information being repurposed for deportation.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Immigration Openness | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Surveillance Technology | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| User Privacy | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.966 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.64)
Evidence (2 signals)
Fortune reported ICE using Palantir tool to track Medicaid data for immigration arrests
Fortune reported on the ELITE tool built by Palantir that allows ICE to tap Medicaid data to identify and arrest people for deportation, mapping potential targets and providing confidence scores for individuals' addresses. A data-sharing agreement gave ICE access to personal data of nearly 80 million Medicaid patients.
Electronic Frontier Foundation challenged ICE's use of Palantir tool to access Medicaid data
The EFF published an analysis stating 'ICE is using a Palantir tool that uses Medicaid and other government data to stalk people for arrest' and asked a federal judge to block the use of Medicaid data in immigration enforcement, arguing patients never consented to their health information being repurposed for deportation.