ICE-Cold Cash: Members of Congress Took More than $1.7 Million from ICE Contractors

The Appeal’s investigation found that:

• Palantir executives donated more money to Democrats than Republicans. They donated a total of about $880,000 to 67 Democratic members of Congress and about $420,000 to 48 Republicans. 

• The five executives at ICE contractors who donated the most amount of money to members of Congress were Palantir’s Karp, Mehdi Alhassani, Shyam Sankar, and Akash Jain, as well as GEO Group CEO George Zoley.

• Palantir executives donated a total of more than $1.3 million to current members of Congress for the 2022, 2024 and 2026 election cycles — more than any other top ICE contractor’s executives.

• Private prison PACs donated approximately $675,000 to members of Congress, and private prison executives donated close to $380,000.

• Private prison executives donated to only one Democratic member of Congress — Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas.) GEO Group executives donated a total of about $33,000 to Cuellar. CoreCivic and GEO Group each operate a facility in Cuellar’s district. His office did not respond to requests for comment.

• Three Democrats in the House received donations from at least one private prison PAC: Reps. Sanford Bishop (Georgia), Cuellar, and Bennie Thompson (Mississippi.) Their offices did not respond to requests for comment.

• Democrats Bishop and Cuellar each received $21,000 from private prison PACs, more donations from the industry’s PACS than any other member of Congress.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire was the only Democratic senator to receive money from a private prison PAC, according to The Appeal’s analysis. FEC records show that she received a $5,000 donation from Management & Training Corporation’s PAC for the 2026 election cycle.

When asked about the contribution, a Shaheen spokesperson told The Appeal in an email that the senator ​“successfully [rallied] opposition to a proposed detention facility in New Hampshire, which has since been halted, and [introduced] legislation that would force any new immigration detention sites around the country to get state and local signoff.”

Her office did not answer The Appeal’s question of whether she would refuse private prison donations in the future.

Most of the approximately 60,000 people detained by ICE are locked up in for-profit immigration jails. Immigrants in these facilities, including children, have reported that they’re held in atrocious conditions, served inedible food, and deprived of medical care. Of the 48 people who died in ICE custody between January 21, 2025, and April 1, 2026, about 62 percent were detained in for-profit lock-ups, according to data collected by lawyer and journalist Andrew Free.

Purging Palantir

Palantir has become a primary target of the anti-ICE movement. The tech company, which was co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, develops technology to stalk, abduct, and detain people who are not U.S. citizens or are suspected of not being U.S. citizens. 

The company has also come under fire for its role in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Palantir provides the Israeli government with artificial intelligence systems used to surveil and murder Palestinians. As Ramah Kudaimi and Evan Sutton wrote for In These Times in 2025, Palantir and other tech firms are ​“bringing the tech they’ve honed overseas home to the United States.”

Although Palantir has contracted with the federal government since at least 2008, it only recently became a household name.

Groups like Purge Palantir can be credited with increasing public scrutiny of the company. 

Purge Palantir, which describes itself as a coalition of organizers and researchers, has launched a campaign to demand that candidates and elected officials reject Palantir donations. The group has also published the Palantir Payroll, which tracks campaign contributions made by the company’s executives. 

According to The Appeal’s analysis, many Democrats who have spoken out against the Trump administration’s deportation agenda have received money from Palantir executives, including Rep. Josh Riley (New York) who received close to $70,000; Rep. Maggie Goodlander (New Hampshire) who received about $37,000; Rep. Pete Aguilar (California) who received $32,500; Sen. Ruben Gallego (Arizona) who received about $35,000; and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (New York) who received $25,000.

However, several Democratic members of Congress have heeded activists’ calls and announced that they will refuse donations from Palantir, including Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (Illinois), Ro Khanna (California), and Pat Ryan (New York.)

In a statement to The Appeal, Khanna said he would ​“continue to work with National Nurses United and the coalition to encourage other leaders to also take this critical pledge.” 

National Nurses United, a 225,000 member union and professional association of registered nurses, is one of many organizations that has been calling for elected officials to reject Palantir donations. 

Palantir executives donated about $35,000 to Khanna for the 2022, 2024, and 2026 election cycles, according to The Appeal’s analysis. Khanna said he has donated all contributions he received from the company’s executives. 

In a phone call with The Appeal, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Virginia) said he does not ​“plan on taking money from Palantir now or in the future,” and that he will donate money that he has received to nonprofits in the area that help immigrant communities. In 2024, Palantir executive Jain donated about $1,500 to Subramanyam’s campaign. 

“I’ve actually expressed to Palantir directly my concerns about what’s going on in immigration enforcement, and that I hope the company would be willing to put its foot down and set very clear boundaries of what it will and won’t do,” Subramanyam said. ​“They heard my feedback, and we’ll see what they do moving forward.”

When asked if he had also raised the issue of the company’s participation in the genocide in Gaza, the congressman said, ​“that didn’t come up,” and that the conversation was ​“mostly focused on immigration.”

A spokesperson for Sen. John Hickenlooper’s (D-Colorado) campaign told The Appeal in an email that the congressman ​“stopped accepting donations from Palantir employees after the company announced a contract with DHS [Department of Homeland Security] to develop an extensive surveillance platform for ICE last year.”

The spokesperson said that ​“Hickenlooper is donating those campaign funds he previously received to local non-profits who provide legal assistance, shelter, and other services to immigrants in Colorado.”

Palantir executives donated about $44,000 to Hickenlooper’s campaign for the 2024 and 2026 election cycles.

In an email to The Appeal, Rep. Ritchie Torres’ (D-New York) campaign said that Karp’s contributions ​“have been donated to charity,” and that they will not accept donations from Palantir executives in the future. In 2024, Karp contributed $6,600 to Torres’ campaign.

Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Arizona) donated the $500 he received from Palantir executive Benjamin Klein to the Latino justice organization, Maremoto, according to his office.

Rep. Mike Levin’s (D-California) campaign said they ​“have returned all of those contributions, and will not accept any further contributions from Palantir executives.” Palantir executive Alhassani donated about $4,300 to Levin’s campaign last year, according to FEC records.

Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), who has been an outspoken critic of Trump’s deportation campaign, said that she had been unaware of a $500 donation made in 2021 to her campaign by Alhassani until notified by The Appeal.

“I have consistently declined meetings with Palantir and their executives and have spoken out against the company and their practices,” she said in a statement to The Appeal. ​“I wouldn’t purposely take money from the private corporations profiting off of inhumane detention facilities, especially given how outspoken I am about them. I’m grateful the donation was brought to my attention and will donate it to the organizations doing the work on the ground.”

Rep. Jason Crow’s (D-Colorado) campaign told The Appeal in an email that the congressman ​“will donate these campaign contributions to charitable organizations working to protect immigrants and civil rights in Colorado.”

However, other legislators were less forthcoming when asked if they would refuse contributions from Palantir executives.

A spokesperson for Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Massachusetts) told The Appeal in an email that the ​“congressman’s voting record speaks for itself,” noting that ​“he has repeatedly voted against writing a blank check for ICE.” 

The spokesperson did not answer The Appeal’s questions about whether Auchincloss would make charitable donations offsetting contributions he has received from Palantir executives and whether he would pledge to reject all future donations. His 2026 campaign has received about $22,000 in donations from Palantir executives, according to The Appeal’s analysis.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington), who has received about $80,000 in donations from Palantir executives, defended the company’s contributions to his campaign. 

In a statement to The Appeal, he said he supports ​“legislation to regulate how the government uses a variety of technologies, including technology by Palantir.” 

“Domestically, I oppose the use of technology that leads to racial profiling or the unlawful surveillance of people in our country,” Smith said. ​“Accepting legal, transparent campaign contributions changes none of that.”

Immigrant rights group Make the Road States has joined Purge Palantir’s call for elected officials to reject Palantir donations.

Sara Cullinane, Deputy Director of Make the Road States, told The Appeal that Palantir is the ​“tech backbone of ICE.” 

“Palantir, in many ways, has a front seat in this administration, and is helping to drive an agenda that includes surveillance, deportation, and disappearances of immigrants,” said Cullinane. ​“We want to make sure that we are exposing the members of Congress who are in bed with one of ICE’s top corporate colluders.”