Rights group says U.S. uses AI to target pro-Palestinian protesters

Palantir headquarters in Palo Alto, California, in 2023. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Amnesty International on Wednesday accused U.S. authorities of using artificial intelligence tools from Palantir and Babel Street to monitor immigrants and target non-citizens at demonstrations supporting Palestinians.

A review of documents, including U.S. Department of Homeland Security public records, showed that software provided by the AI firms enables mass surveillance and assessment of people, often to target those not from the United States, according to Amnesty International.

“The U.S. government is deploying invasive AI-powered technologies within a context of a mass deportation agenda and crackdown on pro-Palestine expression, leading to a host of human rights violations,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas of the rights group.

“This has led to a pattern of unlawful detentions and mass deportations, creating a climate of fear and exacerbating the ‘chilling effect’ for migrant communities and for international students across schools and campuses.”

Amnesty research determined the United States is using the AI tools to track migrants, refugees and asylum seekers as part of a “Catch and Revoke” initiative.

The State Department initiative involves social media monitoring, visa status tracking, and automated threat assessments of visa holders such as foreign students, according to Amnesty.

“Systems like Babel X and Immigration OS (from Palantir) play a key role in the U.S. administration’s ability to carry out its repressive tactics,” said Guevara-Rosas.

“Unless Palantir and Babel Street can demonstrate they can use their leverage as suppliers to improve the serious human rights consequences borne by the policies of their clients, these companies should immediately cease their work with the U.S. administration related to immigration enforcement.”

Use of the AI surveillance tools risks fueling US President Donald Trump’s capacity to “deport marginalized people on a whim,” Amnesty argued.

Since being sworn in for a second term in January, Trump has targeted top U.S. universities over claims they are politically biased towards “woke” politics and has charged -- without evidence -- that they have engaged in antisemitic policies.

The administration has characterized widespread campus protests and sit-ins in the United States calling for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza as being “antisemitic,” and moved to expel foreign students and professors who took part in them.

Trump has made the question of student protest, particularly by foreign scholars, a flashpoint political issue.