A partially unsealed court filing alleges that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) created dossiers on observers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including their photos and license plate numbers, and stored this information in the Investigative Case Management (ICM) database developed by Palantir. Palantir has not responded to requests for comment.
A DHS spokesperson described the case as "meritless" and stated that the lawsuit is based on the false claim that there exists a database of "domestic terrorists" managed by DHS.
The plaintiffs, supported by documents from the government and depositions of DHS agents, claim that ICE agents have intimidated protesters. This intimidation allegedly included surveillance of observers' homes and subjecting at least one observer to secondary inspection at the border until January 2027. JoAnna Suriani, an attorney for Protect Democracy representing the observers, stated, "The government is treating people who exercise their First Amendment rights and seek to hold it accountable as criminal suspects, and that's what we're asking the court to stop."
The filing highlights actions taken during "Operation Catch of the Day," an immigration enforcement operation in Maine in January 2026. A proposed class action has been filed in federal court in Maine by four observers: Elinor Hilton, Colleen Fagan, Polyxenia Pantos, and Carlyn Williams. The lawsuit was initially filed under seal in September, with a redacted version released publicly on October 2, 2026.
The filing details how a DHS agent, referred to as "Agent J.C.," utilized the ICM database, which DHS describes as the case management system for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), to flag observers. J.C. reportedly created records for at least six observers, while the government claims the number is eight. He labeled two individuals filmed at a Home Depot parking lot as "Threat to Law Enforcement, Professional Protestor" and sent their photos to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer for facial recognition checks using an app called Mobile Query.
On January 20, Pantos observed and photographed an arrest in Portland, Maine, from a distance. Later that day, J.C. allegedly accessed the vehicle's registration and obtained personal information about Williams, the vehicle owner, from a law enforcement database. He circulated her photo among colleagues to confirm her identity as a protester. J.C. subsequently contacted Williams, identifying himself as a DHS representative, and warned her to discourage Pantos from similar actions, suggesting that such behavior could lead to being added to a domestic terrorism watchlist. J.C. later denied referencing a watchlist during his deposition.
Documents indicate that Williams' ICM record noted her vehicle's involvement in "interrupting ICE arrests" and that her driver’s license photo matched a video of an individual who intervened during an arrest. A 2016 DHS privacy assessment stated that ICM automatically shares records with CBP’s TECS system, which serves as lookout records for border screening.
ICE awarded Palantir the contract to develop ICM in 2014, with a new five-year support contract valued at approximately $96 million awarded in 2022. In 2025, an additional $30 million was allocated to develop a new platform called "ImmigrationOS."
Todd Lyons, former acting director of ICE, stated in an April letter to Rep. Maxwell Frost that ICE does not maintain a database of US citizens protesting ICE activities and that DHS does not have a separate database for individuals not arrested or detained. The government’s motion to dismiss claims these incidents were isolated and that DHS policy prohibits such conduct, asserting that J.C. documented individuals he perceived as potential threats and did not attempt to nominate anyone for the terrorist watchlist.
Attorneys for the observers argue that DHS's actions have had a chilling effect on their First Amendment rights. The motion indicates that Pantos ceased all observation activities following J.C.’s phone call, and Williams also stopped her observations. The plaintiffs are requesting the court to archive Williams' records, prevent DHS from using the collected information against them, and prohibit agents in Maine from threatening observers with watchlists or following them home.