Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi Owned Palantir Stock While Voting to Fund Homeland Security

Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York has quietly held large amounts of red-hot Palantir stock while the AI software company has become central to federal immigration enforcement, according to a NOTUS review of federal records.

In 2023, Suozzi bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Palantir, and by the end of 2024, he valued his Palantir stock at between $15,001 and $50,000, according to a NOTUS review of congressional personal financial disclosures. (Federal law only requires lawmakers to disclose their investments in broad ranges.)

Federal records indicate Suozzi has maintained those holdings ever since, as Palantir stock values have skyrocketed by more than 2,000% during the last three years. Suozzi’s Palantir holdings would be worth somewhere between about $27,500 and $91,600 if he sold his stock shares today, based on current market prices.

Suozzi’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment from NOTUS.

Government integrity advocates argued that Suozzi’s holdings are problematic because he recently voted to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, while Palantir has earned tens of millions of dollars through contracts with the department and its subagencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“These guys have specific stockholdings, and there’s business all the time coming before Congress that could involve a company that they’re invested in. Palantir does billions of dollars of business with the federal government,” Bob Lord, senior vice president for tax policy at the Patriotic Millionaires, an advocacy group of wealthy people pushing to increase taxes on the rich, told NOTUS.

Last month, Suozzi voted to pass a government funding bill that would have funded the Department of Homeland Security and federal immigration enforcement agencies.

The bill would later fail in the Senate after federal immigration enforcement officers killed Alex Pretti in a Minnesota protest against President Donald Trump’s mass deportations.

The agency’s funding has been frozen since last week after senators failed to reach a deal to create additional regulations involving immigration enforcement actions, such as requiring officers to remove their masks, wear identification and carry body cameras.

“I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis,” Suozzi said in a statement days after his vote. He later voted against a bill that would have extended the agency’s funding.

During his time in Congress, Suozzi’s personal wealth has increased significantly, the New York Post reported.

The congressman has also been hit with multiple ethics complaints after violating the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act’s financial disclosure provisions on four occasions. He also sold up to $50,000 in previously undisclosed stock before Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff binge in April — taking advantage of a congressional disclosure rules loophole.

Palantir’s stock traded between $132 and $136 a share Friday. During 2023, when Suozzi purchased his Palantir stock, the company’s shares traded between about $6 and $20.

Since Trump returned to office last year, Palantir has secured more than $80 million in contract obligations with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to develop surveillance tools that help federal immigration agencies follow deportations in real time and access granular data from immigrants suspected to be in the U.S. without proper documentation.

Separately, the Department of Homeland Security last week announced a $1 billion purchasing agreement with Palantir, WIRED reported, another testament to how central Palantir has become to federal immigration enforcement.

Other Democrats who voted to fund DHS in February while holding Palantir stock were Reps. Cleo Fields of Louisiana and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois.

Reps. Ro Khanna and Gil Cisneros of California, who also hold Palantir stock, both voted not to fund the Department of Homeland Security in early February.

Palantir was founded by Republican megadonor Peter Thiel and the company’s continued work with immigration enforcement has made it increasingly toxic for some Democrats with ties to the company.

Rep. Julie Johnson of Texas, who’s facing a tough primary battle against former Rep. Colin Allred, reported trading Palantir stock last year but has since vowed to dump all of her individual stock holdings.

Earlier this month, an AI-backed super PAC, Leading the Future, ran an ad against New York Assemblyman Alex Bores, who is running for Congress on a pro-AI regulation platform, for having previously worked for Palantir.

After the ad ran, Bores said in a statement that he quit his work at Palantir during Trump’s first administration because of its work with ICE.

Bob Brooks, a leading Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania’s 7th District congressional race — expected to rank among the nation’s closest — disclosed that his wife owns Palantir stock despite his stating: “No stock trading in Congress. If you want to get rich, don’t run for office.”

Lord of Patriotic Millionaires agreed.

“If you really want to serve in Congress, and you want people to think you’re an ethical guy or gal, go ahead and just divest and have it in a blind trust,” he said. “And if it’s really important to you to make a lot of money in the stock market, don’t serve in Congress.”

Cindy Cohn, the executive director of the advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation, told NOTUS that while Palantir touts respect for human rights on its external communications, the company is increasingly tied to immigration enforcement actions that are under legal scrutiny.

An office building occupied by the technology firm Palantir in McLean, Virginia, on October 11, 2014. Kris Tripplaar/Sipa USA via AP

“One of the problems with this is that [Palantir software] is a tool that is dangerous even in the hands of an extremely responsible immigration agency but we know that this immigration agency is not acting responsibly and it is engaging in mass sweeps that don’t recognize the difference between people who are here under asylum claims or green cards, versus people who are actual violent defenders,” Cohn said.

“A powerful tool in the hands of an irresponsible and human rights-violating agency is a toxic mix,” she added.

Palantir did not return NOTUS’ request for comment.

Meanwhile, Palantir CEO Alex Karp has recently made news for his statements about the company’s goals.

“Palantir is here to disrupt and make the institutions we partner with the very best in the world. And, when it’s necessary, to scare our enemies and, on occasion, kill them,” he said in a call with investors earlier this month.