Minneapolis, MN- August 26, 50 protesters rallied to demand an end to Palantir’s catastrophic violence in Gaza and terror campaign here in the United States. The action included three banners on the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge, which connects Loring Park to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden over Interstate-94. The banners read, “MN money funds AI weapons: divest MN from Palantir,” “Divest Minnesota from apartheid Israel! No tax $$$ for occupation” and “Divest MN from Palantir! Israel and Palantir out of Palestine!”

Organizers explained how Palantir has a long, dark history, made worse under the Trump administration. Founded 23 years ago during the so-called War on Terror, the company marketed itself as a software start-up. “Palantir isn’t just another technology company sitting in an investment portfolio,” said Alissa Washington from Wrongfully Incarcerated & Over-sentenced Families Council-MN (WIAOFC-MN).

According to Vincent O’Connor from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), Palantir is a “tool used to commit countless crimes against humanity with the funding and support of the U.S. military and a plethora of agencies like the CIA and the FBI that have an interest in surveilling and controlling entire populations.”

Miki Pensec from Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) pointed out that Palantir is not only a Republican problem, but in fact, “the first Palantir contracts were signed under Obama.”

Organizers highlighted U.S. regime change plots around the world, intensified with Trump in office, in support of its imperialist intentions. O’Connor said that Palantir allows the United States government to “commit this violence more quickly and more efficiently, or, in other words, on a larger scale than ever.”

It’s not just the U.S. government that uses this technology, but also the Israeli government. According to Nadiyah Salawdeh of U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), in 2024, “Palantir entered into a ‘strategic partnership’ with Israel. This partnership has allowed the cowardly Israeli military to hide behind screens, remote controls, and AI models to commit genocide in Gaza and Lebanon.”

O’Connor added that the Israeli occupation forces “use Palantir to recommend bombing targets, generate kill lists, and even track Palestinians so they can bomb them when they’re in their homes with their families.”

“Palantir CEO Alex Karp said in February 2026 that Palantir’s ‘weapons software is in every combat situation I’m aware of’,” said Salawdeh. “It looks like double-tap strikes on hospitals. It looks like hundreds of bullets fired at Hind Rajab. It looks like hundreds of thousands of dead kids. It looks like mass murder and displacement in Lebanon.”

Salawdeh continued, “What we have allowed to happen to Palestinians has come back to roost. These same technologies that have been tested on Palestinians for over a decade are being deployed in our communities.”

Within the U.S., Palantir is an integral tool used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In Minnesota, Palantir’s AI surveillance technology reportedly was used directly during Operation Metro Surge. O’Connor said this allowed for “racist policing and mass deportations” by thousands of agents who were “brutalizing, killing, and abducting our own community members.”

Pensec explained how during Operation Metro Surge, “ICE agents photographed MIRAC members, observers, and ordinary bystanders, called them out by name and told them they knew where they lived.” This was likely aided by Palantir’s technology.

Activists drew attention to the fact that the Minnesota State Board of Investment still has $57 million invested in Palantir. “Minnesota cannot claim to protect immigrant communities and civil liberties while our public money is invested in infrastructure being used to surveil and target people,” said Washington.

The organizers spoke to an upsurge of protest against Palantir around the country and called on the community to rise up and demand accountability and justice. “We are tired of politicians creating another advisory board, another task force, another committee that can make recommendations and then be ignored,” Washington added.

Pensec concluded, “They are starting with immigrants, with people of color, with trans people, with activists. But the endpoint is a profile on every one of us.”

The action included a rally at the nearby busy Hennepin/Lyndale Avenue interchange, where the banners were visible. The rally featured speakers from several groups, including the US Palestinian Community Network, Wrongfully Incarcerated & Over-sentenced Families Council-MN, Minnesota Anti-War Committee, MN 50501, and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palantir #Surveillance #ImmigrantRights #ICE

Tampa, FL- On September 1, the Tampa chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally, formally launching a sanctuary campus campaign. The call for a sanctuary campus at USF comes with demands such as “No collaboration with ICE,” “End 287(g) cooperation with ICE,” “Protect immigrant and undocumented students” and “No Customs and Border Patrol at career fairs.”

SDS member Ryan Freymueller spoke, “Immigrant, undocumented and international students are an irreplaceable part of this campus We are here today to tell USF administration that we see our peers, we value them, and we will defend them.”

The energy of the rally matched this sentiment with chants such as “Power to the people, no one is illegal!” and “USF, shame on you, protect your immigrant students too!”

For the University of South Florida, a sanctuary campus means enacting policies that protect undocumented students and staff from immigration and customs enforcement. The Trump administration has prided itself on its violent and aggressive tactics toward immigrant communities by utilizing ICE, police and the National Guard. Additionally, the University of South Florida currently has an active 287(g) agreement, allowing campus police officers to act as ICE agents.

Earlier this year, the Florida Board of Governors voted to ban undocumented students from the state college system. A proposal for the same policy in the state university system was passed this month. Meanwhile, federal law does not prohibit undocumented students from obtaining higher education.

The campaign for a sanctuary campus at USF is also supported by Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee (TIRC). The Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee is part of the national network Legalization for All. The students at the University of South Florida will continue this campaign through the fall semester.

#TampaFL #FL #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #ICE #SanctuaryCampus #UniversityofSouthFlorida

The Trump administration has made the cruel choice to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians. This puts nearly 350,000 people in the crosshairs of the mass deportation machine. Given ICE’s track record, we need to take them at their word and take this as a serious threat.

It’s a campaign of intimidation, and the administration is playing with people’s lives. The decision is pulling the rug out from under families who have been living in the US for years—they have children, livelihoods, and community ties—they’re not going anywhere, nor should they. In Ohio, families are already getting letters telling them to “deport yourself, or else” and being degraded and treated like criminals. The real criminals are in the White House. They want to use panic and harassment to drive people out of their homes.

The Trump administration also wants our movement to stay silent about it. We call on everyone who can see this is wrong to drag these attacks into the light. We need protests and we need to be in the streets. It’s time to stand up and say no to Trump’s deportation machine.

Stop the mass deportation of Haitians!

Legalization not deportation!

#ImmigrantRights #ICE #TPS #Haitians #OH

Los Angels, CA – On July 25, in downtown Los Angeles a coalition of over 50 organizations and faith leaders gathered for a funeral procession to honor the lives of those murdered by ICE. This action was organized under the slogan “Justice for All.”

The procession started at LA City Hall and marched through the streets carrying handmade cardboard coffins and pictures of those killed by ICE, including Keith Porter, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

No Camps CA and NELA for Democracy were the two main groups that organized this vigil demanding a full, independent investigation, the release and protection of those who witnessed the murder of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, an end to local collaboration with ICE, and for immediate action by Congress.

Marylinda Moss from NELA for Democracy told the crowd, “It was powerful and moving to have more than 50 grassroots groups here in LA and all across the country come together in unity in just over a week, for [the] ‘Justice for All Day of Action and Accountability’ to stand in solidarity against the brutality and the senseless killings enacted by this government. Thanks to the many hands and hearts it took to make over 70 coffins in a week, paired with the ‘Killed by ICE’ placards; it was an undeniable visual of what is being done to our people.”

Los Jornaleros Del Norte, a band that is known for leading protests with cumbias and “Music that accompanies the struggle and celebrates the dignity of the immigrant and working-class community,” guided the procession from Los Angeles City Hall to Placita Olvera.

Brianna Mosqueda from Centro CSO said, “Being able to be a pallbearer was an honor. But it also made me think about the 73-plus families that have to carry their fathers, mothers, or children to rest. These families suffer because of modern day ethnic cleansing. We see the warnings and if we don’t do anything now, this will become a genocide.”

Michelle Arkin with No Concentration Camps CA said, “At the Justice for All vigil in downtown Los Angeles we gathered to mourn lives that should never have been lost: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Johan Sebastian Guerrero, and the more than 70 people who have died in ICE custody or murdered on our streets. Our grief is real, but it is not the end of the story. Standing and processing with 73 coffins in solidarity, we transformed mourning into a powerful reminder that no one stands alone. Unity is our greatest strength.”

Verita Topete, the co-chair of Centro CSO’s Immigration Committee, read a statement of accountability and ended with, “We can say ‘abolish ICE’ but what happens when ICE is abolished? Before ICE there was INS. The people in power will just start over and build another agency to oppress and kill us. This is why we need legalization for all 11-plus million undocumented immigrants.”

#LosAngelesCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #ICE