Reporters Sheera Frenkel and Aaron Krolik of The New York Times reported on 30 May 2025 that the second Trump administration has tapped the controversial tech company Palantir to compile data on millions of Americans and immigrants. Previous reports from CNN and Wired described how the Department of Homeland Security is building mass data collection and processing tools to monitor undocumented immigrants.
Massive Data Centralization Efforts of the Second Trump Administration: Background, Claimed Purpose, and Criticisms
Background and Overview
The second Trump administration has been data-hungry. Donald Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 that directed federal agencies to stop what the admin has deemed waste, fraud, and abuse by eliminating information silos. This involved removing barriers to intra-office sharing of unclassified information and giving the president and agency heads full and prompt access to all agency records, data, software systems, and information technology systems.
Josh Marcus of The Independent noted that the aforementioned is a euphemism for collecting and centralizing a huge amount of data on Americans and other relevant individuals or groups. This opinion is in response to The New York Times article about the Trump administration expanding its contracts with the data analytics company Palantir Technologies to centralize millions of data on Americans as part of adherence to the abovementioned executive order.
Palantir has landed federal government contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars under the second Trump administration. An NPR report by Bobby Allyn noted that the company has been working with various federal and state agencies in the past but has further expanded its dealings since Trump took office in January 2025. The Trump admin has spent USD 113 million as of May and is working on a USD 795 million contract with the Department of Defense.
The same data analytics company is also reportedly behind the efforts to build a master database to surveil and track immigrants according to unnamed sources quoted by CNN and Wired. Note that the initiative is under the purview of the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE and is slated to be integrated into the operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE. Note that ICE has also been using software and other services from Palantir.
Claimed Purpose and Criticisms
There are reasonable arguments for centralizing government data when framed from an efficiency perspective. Information silos mean federal agencies hold overlapping and outdated data without sharing them. This creates waste and delays. A centralized system allows for real-time updates and coordinated responses. It also eliminates duplications and errors. Centralization can also streamline not only access to data but also public services dependent on these data.
However, depending on how the initiative is designed, implemented, and overseen, criticisms and concerns are unavoidable. The legitimacy of the ongoing data collection and utilization efforts of the second Trump administration hinges on accountability, proportionality, and transparency. Most of the criticisms and concerns fall into legal, ethical, security, and political categories. It does not help that the administration has been slammed for its fascist-like policies.
Note that data centralization makes it easier for government agencies to track, monitor, and profile individuals. This could raise First Amendment concerns. It can also give unprecedented power to whoever controls them. The system could enable the targeting of immigrants, dissidents or opposition groups, and minority communities if used without effective oversight. Data centralization is also one of the critical components of a massive offline and online surveillance system.
Palantir Technologies is also concerning. It operates in the shadows of government projects. It has equipped the Israel Defense Forces with the capabilities to strike targets in Gaza. The public often cannot determine what tools it builds, how data is processed, or what oversight exists. It has also developed systems for real-time migrant tracking and social network analytics that have been used by U.S. immigration officers to track and detain undocumented immigrants.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Allyn, B. 3 May 2025. “How Palantir, the Secretive Tech Company, is Rising in the Trump Era.” NPR. Available online
- Alvarez, P., Serfaty, S., Cohen, M., and Luhby, T. 25 April 2025. “DOGE is Building a Master Database for Immigration Enforcement, Sources Say.” CNN. Available online
- Frenkel, S. and Krolik, A. 30 May 2025. “Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Millions of Americans.” The New York Times. Available online
- Kelly, M. and Elliot, V. 18 April 2025. “DOGE is Building a Master Database to Surveil and Track Immigrants.” Wired.
- Marcus, J. 31 May 2025. “Has Big Brother Arrived? Inside the Secretive Trump Effort to Centralize Government Data on Millions of Americans.” The Independent. Available online
- The White House. 20 March 2025. “Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos.” The White House. Available online