NJ Rallies Pressure Gottheimer, Kean Over Palantir ICE Ties

Immigrant rights advocates are urging  state and local leaders to divest from Palantir, which has provided key data-mining and surveillance technology to ICE to support their detention and deportation of immigrants. 

New Jersey’s state pension fund invests more than $130 million in the company, and Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-5th) and Thomas Kean Jr. (R-7th) have accepted donations from company executives — even as advocates say its surveillance tools facilitate mass deportation. 

Demonstrators have three staged rallies on April 11, 13, and 15 to push back against state leaders, reflecting the growing alarm over New Jersey’s public finances and political leadership connections to Palantir.

Nedia Morsy, director of Make the Road New Jersey, said in an interview that they are trying to raise “awareness to the fact that the Trump Administration is trying to narrow who is entitled to citizenship and equal protection and due process.”

“The authoritarian regime is using a massive spy tech corporation to build the tools to make those rights easier to violate,” Morsy said. “And so, we have to understand the master’s tools in order to break down the master’s house.”

Co-founded by Peter Thiel, Palantir has partnered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for over a decade to create surveillance tools that identify, track, and deport immigrants. Last year, ICE awarded Palantir a $30 million contract to build ImmigrationOS, an AI platform designed to streamline deportation operations.

Gottheimer received $13,600 in donations from Palantir executives, more than any other member of the congressional delegation. These donations include money from Palantir CEO Alex Carp and from Medhi Alhassani, the company’s head of government affairs and public policy. Meanwhile, Kean received $7,000 in donations from Peter Thiel himself. 

In January, Gottheimer pushed to set “constitutional guardrails” on the federal government’s immigration enforcement in the U.S. with the ICE Standards Act. Kean also said in February that taxpayers shouldn’t have to face the financial burden of paying for immigrant detention centers like the proposed facility in Roxbury.

However, advocates say the fact that both Gottheimer and Kean have held onto donations from Palantir executives has raised concerns about whether they will put the needs of state residents above corporate surveillance interests.

“[Palantir’s technology] tracks activists. It helps federal agents abduct immigrants, and…the Congressional representatives are drawing a direct connection to themselves and these issues by not drawing a line in the sand,” said Morsy.

These concerns come as Big Tech companies have continued investing in American politics and leadership. AI companies and executives are donating over $100 million to federal races and super PACs ahead of the 2026 midterm election, according to The New York Times.

Advocates have called on Gottheimer and Kean to return their donations and refuse any further contributions from Palantir executives and their affiliates. They have also demanded that the State Investment Council cease funding Palantir so the public’s pensions and taxpayer dollars don’t go toward government surveillance, mass deportation, and separating families.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s office, as well as spokespeople for Kean and Gottheimer, did not respond to requests for comment.

Though many state elected officials have taken a stance against ICE’s operations, advocates say that speaking out against Palantir will prove whether these officials stand with their constituents.

“As members of the delegation, they too should be concerned about corporate surveillance interests over the needs of New Jersey residents, and we’re very eager to see them take the pledge,” said Morsy.