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404 Media: Thomson Reuters data fed ICE and Palantir tools

journalismMar 31, 2026808

A 404 Media investigation found Thomson Reuters' CLEAR database supplied personal data to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tools. Documents and sources show CLEAR data fed ELITE, ICE's neighborhood targeting system, and was integrated into systems Palantir built for the agency. Thomson Reuters operates both as a global news organization and a commercial data broker, and CLEAR aggregates public and proprietary identity and location records. This matters because a major media-linked company is directly enabling government surveillance and enforcement, raising urgent privacy and accountability concerns.

Key Highlights

404 Media found Thomson Reuters CLEAR data fed ICE enforcement tools.
Documents show CLEAR data was used in ELITE, ICE's neighborhood targeting system.
Former Palantir employee and DHS sources confirm integration with systems Palantir built.