Amnesty International has raised significant concerns regarding the U.S. authorities' deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, developed by Palantir and Babel Street, to monitor immigrants and track non-citizens involved in pro-Palestine demonstrations. A report released on August 20, 2025, indicates that these AI systems facilitate mass surveillance and individual profiling, with a particular focus on identifying non-U.S. nationals.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy, and Campaigns at Amnesty International, highlighted the alarming trend of the U.S. government utilizing invasive AI technologies amidst intensified deportation efforts and a crackdown on pro-Palestine expression. The investigation revealed that these AI tools are integral to the "Capture and Revoke" initiative, a program that reportedly combines social media monitoring, visa status tracking, and automated threat assessments of foreign individuals, including international students. Software such as Babel X from Babel Street and Palantir's Immigration OS are reportedly enabling authorities to identify individuals, analyze their behavior and movements with unprecedented speed and scale, and make determinations regarding potential visa revocations.
Amnesty International warns that this technological approach risks leading to arbitrary and unlawful visa revocations, deportations, and broader human rights violations, potentially exacerbating existing issues within the immigration system. In response to Amnesty International's inquiries in July 2025, Palantir stated that its product was not used to drive the "Capture and Revoke" initiative and denied any violation of migrants' rights. However, Amnesty International maintains that both Palantir and Babel Street could have reasonably anticipated the potential for harm to migrant populations and pro-Palestine advocates, suggesting that the companies should have reevaluated their AI programs' association with past administration policies.
The organization points to a pattern of unlawful detentions and mass deportations, contributing to a climate of fear and a significant 'chilling effect' on migrant communities and international students. Babel X, in use by Customs and Border Protection since at least 2019, can aggregate vast amounts of data from a single identifier, including social media activity, IP addresses, and employment history, to trace device locations. Palantir's Immigration OS, which received a $30 million contract from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in April 2025, is an upgrade to its existing Integrated Case Management system. This system is designed to streamline the identification and apprehension of individuals prioritized for removal, track self-deportations, and enhance deportation logistics.
The system's capabilities include streamlining enforcement operations, prioritizing targets based on ICE priorities, and providing near real-time visibility into self-deportations. Amnesty International urges U.S. authorities to halt the use of these surveillance technologies and to ensure that immigration policies are aligned with human rights and fundamental freedoms. The organization's findings suggest that the integration of AI in immigration enforcement raises critical questions about the ethical implications of technology in law enforcement and the responsibility of tech companies in preventing the misuse of their products for human rights violations. The report also notes that pro-Palestinian sentiments have sometimes been conflated with antisemitism or pro-terrorism, potentially making individuals vulnerable to AI-enabled social media monitoring.