Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is fast-tracking a $100 million program to place 142 intelligence analysts in more than two dozen cities and Washington, D.C. [1][2]. The same week, voting and privacy groups sued to force the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to delete voter records it collected from at least 47 states [4]. The Justice Department (DOJ) also asked a court to let it keep running state voter rolls through federal databases despite an Oct. 9, 2026, ruling that blocked the practice [5].
Meanwhile, state officials and researchers say the federal programs that once tracked foreign election interference have been cut back, even as artificial intelligence (AI) makes those campaigns easier to run [7]. Overseas, Palantir settled its legal fight with London’s mayor over a blocked £50m police contract [10][11]. And Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey publicly backed a Pentagon plan to livestream an execution [12].
The throughline: the government is building more capacity to collect and connect data on people, and less capacity to protect the systems voters depend on.
Is ICE building a domestic intelligence agency?
What happened. ICE is fast-tracking a program called Enforcement and Removal Operations Overwatch and National Security Enforcement, or ERO ONE, described in documents posted on federal procurement websites [1]. The program would place about 142 intelligence research specialists and two project managers at headquarters and field locations across the country [2]. A statement of work was published Sept. 18, 2026, and a forecast says the solicitation will likely be released Dec. 10, 2026 [1].
Analysts would produce “network, link, and relationship analysis” on “individuals, organizations, locations, events, activities, data points, and other entities” [2]. The work may draw on classified and unclassified sources, including personally identifiable information, and contractors could need Top Secret clearances [2]. The largest allocations are 15 specialists in Washington, D.C., and 24 across two centers in Williston, Vermont [2].
This is a planned contract, not an award. Intelligence contracting experts told The American Prospect the timeline suggests an award around February [1].
Why it matters. Relationship analysis covers not only a target but the people around them, including family, friends and coworkers [1]. Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said it “looks dangerously like the construction of an internal spying agency” [1]. The documents do not say whom ICE is looking for or which data sources analysts would use [1].
The other side. An ICE spokesman told Newsweek that “due to the exponential increase of threats and violence against personnel, ERO is now operationalizing the Overwatch program” [2]. The documents say contractors would provide analysis only, with final decisions on targeting, enforcement and detention left to government officials [2]. Scott Mechowski, a former ICE deputy field office director, said “Officers and field offices are drowning in leads and data, and analysts are what turn that into something usable” [2].
Open questions.
Which databases, including commercial data, would ERO ONE analysts be allowed to search?
Who reviews an analyst’s “link chart” before it leads to an arrest?
What happens to analysis on people who are connected to a target but suspected of nothing?
Can courts stop the federal voter-data machine?
What happened. Since September 2025, DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has sued 30 states and D.C. for their unredacted voter rolls [6]. Every one of the 26 judges who issued final rulings threw the cases out, including eight Trump appointees [6]. On Oct. 9, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan blocked DOJ from collecting state voter data and running it through DHS’s SAVE citizenship database [5].
On Oct. 16, 2026, DOJ asked the court to pause that ruling while it appeals [5]. A day earlier, the League of Women Voters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) sued DHS, asking a court to declare its voter-record collection unlawful and order the data deleted [4]. Documents released through a separate lawsuit showed ICE received 50.6 million voter records from DOJ and 48.4 million from other sources [4].
Why it matters. Voter files hold names, birthdates, addresses, driver’s license numbers and, in some cases, Social Security numbers [3]. Democracy Docket reported that SAVE has routinely flagged eligible voters, especially naturalized citizens, as noncitizens [3][4]. DOJ used a DHS review of California’s voter roll to challenge about 20,000 voters ahead of the midterms [4].
The other side. DOJ said in its filing that “There is no such policy” and that the ruling “hamstrung DOJ’s ability to enforce the election laws that Congress has empowered it to enforce” [5]. A DOJ spokesperson told ProPublica that “Disagreement with the government’s position is not evidence of bad faith” [6]. Democracy Docket’s founder chairs the board of Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs [4].
Open questions.
If an appeals court lifts the block, how fast could DOJ resume voter-roll checks before Nov. 3?
Will DHS say what it did with the nearly 100 million records ICE received?
Who corrects a voter’s record when SAVE gets it wrong?
Who is watching for election interference now?
What happened. State officials say they are receiving fewer election-specific federal briefings than in past cycles [7]. The administration shut down CISA work on election disinformation, disbanded the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force and closed the State Department office that countered foreign information threats [7]. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, told NOTUS in July: “If you go back to 2020, we had 30 different federal threat briefings. This year we received none” [8].
Private platforms are filling part of the gap. X said Oct. 14, 2026, it suspended more than 13,000 accounts tied to suspected influence operations linked to Iran, Russia and China [9]. A week earlier, OpenAI said it had shut down two alleged Russian and Iranian operations that used ChatGPT [9].
Why it matters. AI tools now help foreign operators write messages, find audiences and adjust campaigns at a scale not seen before, according to specialists who spoke to Nextgov/FCW [7]. One election nonprofit official said they have not been invited to a CISA elections operations room for the midterms [7]. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said intelligence briefings are “not something that we can just go to a store and buy” [8].
The other side. A CISA spokesperson said “Election security is national security” and that the agency will activate an Incident Coordination Group before and during Election Day [7]. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has assigned officials to coordinate election threat intelligence, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed Cyber Command to prioritize foreign election threats [7]. A DHS spokesperson said CISA is “focused squarely on executing its statutory mission” [8].
Open questions.
Should voters trust a social media company’s account takedowns when government researchers can no longer check the work?
Who coordinates if several states see the same attack on Election Day?
Did Palantir win its fight with London’s mayor?
What happened. Palantir and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) withdrew their claims against each other on Oct. 14, 2026, heading off a High Court trial [10]. Palantir sued in June after Mayor Sadiq Khan’s office blocked a two-year, £50m deal for the Metropolitan Police to use AI to process criminal intelligence [10]. Each side pays its own legal costs, no damages were paid and no liability was admitted [10].
In a joint statement, MOPAC said its decision “was not based on Palantir’s values or ethics” [10]. A new procurement is under way, and MOPAC agreed to treat Palantir “fairly and equally” if it bids [10]. Earlier court budgets put the two sides’ combined potential costs at more than £8m [11].
Why it matters. Khan had previously said Londoners wanted public money going to companies that “share the values of our city,” citing Palantir’s work for the Israeli military and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown [10]. The Guardian reported Palantir was concerned that letting public bodies block contracts over its leadership’s values would undermine its ability to operate in the UK [10]. The company is also fighting to keep a £330m National Health Service (NHS) data contract [10].
The other side. Palantir’s Tom Watson, the former Labour deputy leader the firm hired as a lobbyist, said decisions “can still be made on their merits and in the public interest” [10][11]. Khan said Palantir “makes a significant contribution to jobs and investment in the capital” [10]. City AM reported the Met said Palantir’s existing technology helped uncover misconduct by the head of its Special Constabulary [11].
Open questions.
Can a public body weigh a vendor’s track record on surveillance without being accused of bias?
Does the settlement make it harder for U.S. cities to reject Palantir on civil liberties grounds?
What does Anduril’s founder’s execution post tell us about defense tech’s politics?
What happened. On Oct. 12, 2026, Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey wrote that “Executions should be public and brutal, not private and medicalized” [12][14]. He was responding to Hegseth’s plan to livestream the military execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan [12]. Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale defended him, writing that “Palmer Luckey and George Washington are not barbaric” [12].
President Donald Trump called off the livestream on Oct. 15, 2026, but said Hasan “will die as scheduled” on Dec. 3 [13]. An ABC News poll found eight in 10 Americans disagreed with the livestream, and 72 retired U.S. generals called it “barbaric,” according to Mother Jones [13].
Why it matters. Anduril sells autonomous drones and software to the Defense Department, Customs and Border Protection and militaries abroad [12]. It employs at least 7,000 workers and opened an Ohio plant that produced its first Fury drone in July [14]. Luckey has given $5.9 million to Republicans since 2017, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records cited by Mother Jones [12].
The other side. Luckey argued public executions keep the state’s power from “running out of control” by confronting voters with the trade they have made [14]. He wrote that private, medicalized executions make “needless executions more likely, not less so” [12]. Luckey made the comments in posts on X under his own name [12][14].
“My position is simple: Executions should be public and brutal, not private and medicalized.” — Palmer Luckey, Anduril co-founder [14]
Open questions.
Should the personal views of defense-tech founders matter when the Pentagon buys autonomous weapons?
Where is the line between a founder’s speech and a contractor’s influence?
Follow the money
ERO ONE: a planned $100 million ICE intelligence program, with a solicitation expected Dec. 10, 2026 [1].
Metropolitan Police AI deal: £50m over two years, now being re-tendered [10].
Palantir’s NHS data contract: £330m [10].
Luckey’s political giving: $5.9 million to Republicans since 2017 [12].
Watch next week
A ruling on DOJ’s request to pause the Oct. 9 voter-data block [5].
Early voting and the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with X’s new election rules in effect [9].
The ERO ONE solicitation, expected Dec. 10, 2026 [1], and the Hasan execution, scheduled for Dec. 3 [13].
Related reading
This Week in Palantalk: ICE’s voter files and Palantir, Anduril’s $2.9 billion sub deal & more
Palantalk | E55 - The Latest On the New Forever War, The Surveillance Machine & More
Palantalk - where we talk tech, no fascism.
Sources
prospect.org — ICE Planning $100 Million ‘Nightmare’ Domestic Spy Program. By Whitney Curry Wimbish, published Oct 14, 2026
newsweek.com — Map Shows Cities in ICE’s Planned $100M Intelligence Network. By Billal Rahman, published Oct 16, 2026 (Subscription)
Democracy Docket — Trump is building a national voter registry, threatening state control of elections. By Jacob Knutson, published Oct 16, 2026
Democracy Docket — New lawsuit challenges Trump’s ‘unlawful’ acquisition of Americans’ voter records, demands data’s deletion. By Jacob Knutson, published Oct 15, 2026
Democracy Docket — DOJ asks court to let it continue its voter roll purging program despite block. By Brentin Mock, published Oct 17, 2026
ProPublica — “Devoid of Any Factual Basis”: Again and Again, Judges Have Dismissed Trump’s Voter Data Lawsuits. By Lucas Waldron, Peter Elkind, published Oct 16, 2026
Defense One — Trump admin’s retreat from foreign-influence fight is weakening US defenses, sources say. By David DiMolfetta, published Oct 14, 2026
notus.org — States Are Struggling to Replace the Election Cybersecurity Infrastructure Trump Dismantled. By Samuel Larreal, published Jul 23, 2026 Publisher’s note: This story was updated to clarify the circumstances under which Geoff Hale left CISA.
Al Jazeera — X suspends 13,000 accounts, alleging foreign influence ahead of US midterms. By Al Jazeera Staff, published Oct 15, 2026
The Guardian — Palantir and Sadiq Khan drop legal battle over Met contract. By Robert Booth UK technology editor, published Oct 14, 2026
cityam.com — Khan climbdown: Palantir settles £50m Met row after fears of ‘unlawful’ bias. By Saskia Koopman, published Oct 14, 2026
Mother Jones — Pete Hegseth’s Firing Squad Livestream Is Finding Fans in the Defense Industry. By Alex Nguyen, published Oct 13, 2026
Mother Jones — Trump Calls Off Execution Livestream. By Sophie Hurwitz, published Oct 15, 2026
thenationaldesk.com — Anduril founder says ‘executions should be public and brutal’. By WSYX Staff, published Oct 13, 2026
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