Amnesty accuses US of using AI surveillance to target migrants and pro-Palestine demonstrators

Amnesty International has accused US authorities of using artificial intelligence tools developed by Palantir and Babel Street to monitor immigrants and track non-citizens who participate in demonstrations supporting Palestinians.

According to a report released Wednesday, Amnesty reviewed public records from the Department of Homeland Security and found that software provided by the two AI companies enables mass surveillance and profiling, particularly of non-US nationals. The group says these tools have contributed to widespread human rights violations.

"The US government is deploying invasive AI-powered technologies within a context of a mass deportation agenda and crackdown on pro-Palestine expression," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, a senior representative at Amnesty International. "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 international students."

Amnesty’s findings indicate the tools are being used under a "Catch and Revoke" program, which includes monitoring social media, tracking visa statuses, and performing automated threat assessments of visa holders such as foreign students and scholars.

The rights group named Babel X and Immigration Operating System, developed by Babel Street and Palantir respectively, as key technologies enabling the US government’s immigration enforcement and protest crackdown.

Guevara-Rosas urged both companies to reevaluate their involvement: "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 US administration related to immigration enforcement."

Amnesty also warned that the use of such surveillance tools could further empower President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has intensified scrutiny of US universities, accusing them of political bias and antisemitism without presenting evidence. His administration has labeled campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza as antisemitic and taken steps to expel foreign students and academics who participate in them.

Trump has made student activism—particularly by international scholars—a central issue in his broader political campaign.

SR