‘ELITE’: The Palantir app ICE uses to find neighborhoods to raid

Nature of the ELITE app and Palantir’s tech

• Several commenters say ELITE is essentially “just a dashboard” or a souped‑up Databricks/PowerBI setup over government data, not magical super‑tech.
• Others stress that even simple probabilistic dashboards become dangerous when used by poorly trained agents who already show weak regard for rights, predicting wrongful arrests and raids.

Responsibility: vendor vs government vs engineers

• One camp argues the real problem is policy: governments choose to collect, connect, and weaponize data; Palantir is a contractor, not a data broker.
• Others counter that vendors are morally responsible for what they knowingly enable; “just following orders” and “only transport” analogies are invoked.
• Debate over whether tools are “neutral” (like hammers or trains) versus inherently shaped by their intended use; some insist building certain systems (e.g., mass‑tracking tools) is itself unethical.

Palantir’s business model, hype, and reputation

• Multiple people describe Palantir as typical enterprise software plus “forward deployed engineers” (consultants/contractors) with clearances, sold via aggressive, near‑mythic sales.
• There is skepticism about Palantir’s mystique: mediocre tech, huge marketing, little profit compared to traditional defense/IT contractors.
• Others argue its software “works” better than competitors’, which is precisely why it is dangerous in state hands.

Surveillance, data fusion, and legal/constitutional concerns

• Commenters worry about Palantir as part of a broader surveillance/fusion infrastructure: linking IRS, CDC, DHS, and other datasets that were once siloed.
• Discussion of the “commercial data” loophole to the 4th Amendment and how buying or deriving data can bypass warrant requirements; some dispute whether Palantir itself sells or stores data versus just processing it.
• Concerns about plausible deniability and “parallel construction” in law enforcement.

Immigration, ICE tactics, and civil liberties

• Strong disagreement over mass deportation vs. documentation/integration. Some support strict enforcement, others call deportation over birth circumstances immoral.
• Many condemn current ICE tactics as unconstitutional, racist, and cruel (door‑kicking raids, “papers please,” masked agents, targeting legal residents or citizens).
• Others say tough action is a predictable backlash to decades of political inaction, while critics respond that the specific methods—not mere enforcement—are what make “Nazi” analogies surface.

Nuance, polarization, and industry response

• Several lament loss of nuance and rise of all‑or‑nothing framings; others argue extremity of current policies makes “moderate” positions untenable.
• Some propose offering explicit hiring “off‑ramps” for Palantir engineers who want to leave on moral grounds; others say they wouldn’t hire people who chose to work there in the first place.
• Broader worries appear about normalization of mass surveillance tech, vice‑signaling “evil” brands, and the role of tech workers in enabling state abuses.