As DOGE Builds ‘Master Database’ Of Personal Information To Assist With Deportations, Democrats See ‘Illegal’ Invasion Of Americans’ Privacy

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Alessio AtriaMay 14, 2025, 5:59 pmNews >

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is creating a master database at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to speed up immigration enforcement and deportations.

Various sources familiar with the plans told CNN that the DOGE is hoping to build this database by combining private data from across the federal government. The goal is to make an extensive data repository pulled from multiple agencies. Government data has never been used in this way before.

The project is being spearheaded by Palantir, a Silicon Valley data analytics company co-founded by Peter Thiel, one of Elon Musk‘s allies and a Trump donor. The company has been ingesting and processing data from many U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and DHS sources. However, their latest project is set to move forward by identifying people with civil immigration violations.

Democratic lawmakers slammed the plan, declaring that DOGE, which claimed it saved $160 billion in the U.S. budget earlier this month after Musk promised to save $2 trillion, is illegally exploiting Americans’ personal information.

Trump officials view the project as a way to overcome a significant obstacle and quickly build “targeting lists” that ICE can use to find, detain and deport migrants in America. Under pressure from the White House, it is part of a concerted attempt to progress enforcement and increase deportations.

According to public records on a federal contracting site, the DHS contract with Palantir features “streamlining selection and apprehension operations of illegal aliens” and self-deportation tracking. ICE currently uses the company’s software for Homeland Security investigations.

As of now, officials have been challenged by building what is known as “targeting lists” to arrest people without status. Sources reported that some existing lists were filled with errors, creating more work for agents in the field to confirm and deny information.

However, ex-Homeland Security officials have shared concern over Palantir’s capability to serve ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, which also require extensive logistics planning.

On May 5, DHS announced a new program offering illegal immigrants a $1,000 stipend to voluntarily leave the U.S., as part of the Trump administration’s effort to accelerate deportations and decrease enforcement costs.