Nurses protest at Sen. Durbin's home over Palantir, ICE connections

Demonstrations Demand Action from Senator Durbin Over Ties to Palantir

Nurses and local residents gathered for a press conference and protest on July 15 at Senator Dick Durbin's Chicago home. Their demand: for the senator to redirect his political donations from Palantir Technologies to organizations championing immigrant rights. Information from Purge Palantir’s “Palantir Payroll” tracker reveals that Senator Durbin has received over $14,000 from Palantir executives.

Palantir’s technology, often criticized for enabling deportations and detentions, has been linked to the recent deaths of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas. Both were fatally shot by federal immigration officers within the past week. Participants at the event urged Sen. Durbin to align with lawmakers like U.S. representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Jason Crow, Pat Ryan, and Senator John Hickenlooper by refusing Palantir donations.

Brenda Langford, a registered nurse at Cook County Health, emphasized, “We are calling on all elected officials including Senator Durbin to take the pledge to reject Palantir money and acknowledge that Palantir poses a fundamental threat to individual privacy, our democracy, and our Constitution.”

Cathy Kennedy, president of National Nurses United, added, “Palantir’s technology enables crimes against humanity and nurses are here to say no. Nurses are here to protect our patients, to protect immigrant workers, and to protect our democracy from tech billionaires. That is why we are demanding our elected officials, like Senator Dick Durbin, stand with us and not the billionaires. So Senator Durbin, we nurses want to know: Whose side are you on?”

The protest also saw support from Chicago's concerned citizens, union members, and activists. Maria Heavener, a teacher at Funston Elementary School and a member of the Chicago Teachers Union, highlighted the adverse effects of aggressive immigration enforcement on students: “Sen. Durbin, you can’t claim to stand with our communities while taking Palantir’s money. Their tech enables ICE terror... When we suffer, Palantir profits—and those billions buy politicians and push the privatization of our schools, dealing yet another blow to the communities they’ve already devastated. Reject Palantir’s money, invest in healthcare and education instead.”

Palantir's reputation has been increasingly marred by protests from nurses, activists, and communities nationwide, rendering its brand politically contentious in the U.S. and beyond. Despite this, the company maintains a profitable relationship with the federal government, including a lucrative business arrangement with the Trump administration.

The federal budget has reduced over a trillion dollars in Medicaid funding and Affordable Care Act subsidies, risking healthcare access for many Mainers and threatening hospital services. However, Palantir has received billions in federal contracts. The company, founded by billionaires Peter Thiel and Alex Karp, leverages its data mining tools to consolidate vast amounts of federal data, including Medicaid information, supporting ICE operations to identify and deport immigrants.

Between 2009 and 2025, Palantir received $2.5 billion from the federal government, with a dramatic increase in contracts over the past year. This includes a $10 billion agreement with the Department of Defense to enhance data sharing across agencies. A recent $30 million deal with Homeland Security aims to develop AI systems for immigrant identification. Additionally, a $1 billion contract was signed in February 2026 between Palantir and Homeland Security.

National Nurses United stands as the largest and fastest-growing union of registered nurses in the U.S., with over 225,000 members nationwide. Its affiliates include the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.

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