WASHINGTON — The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute is canceling Palantir Technologies’ sponsorship of Thursday’s 49th Annual Awards Gala and returning the company’s money, Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., told fellow lawmakers in a group message shared with Migrant Insider.
Soto chairs CHCI’s board. The reversal comes after Migrant Insider reported that Palantir — the company that built ICE the ImmigrationOS platform used to target immigrants for arrest and deportation — had sponsored at least one table at the gala, where Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is scheduled to present Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Velázquez went “ballistic” on learning that Palantir would be sponsoring the event where she is being honored, according to a person familiar with her reaction.
Ocasio-Cortez’s office said Monday it was hearing about the sponsorship for the first time and would look into it.
Earlier, Migrant Insider put a single written question to Soto, CHCI President and CEO Marco A. Davis, and Cristina Antelo, the Ferox Strategies lobbyist who registered to represent Palantir in March: Will you share the details of the Palantir sponsorship of CHCI? None of them replied.
The institute has not said publicly what tier Palantir bought, what it paid, or who approved it. Those questions remain unanswered, as does whether CHCI has any written policy governing which corporations may sponsor its events.
Velázquez, who announced in November that she will not seek reelection, is being honored Thursday for a 33-year career in the House.
On Monday, Migrant Insider asked three people one question: what did Palantir pay CHCI? Nobody answered. Tuesday, the sponsorship was canceled and the money sent back. That’s the whole business model. One reporter, one question, one afternoon — and a deportation contractor loses its seat at a gala honoring a 33-year champion of immigrant families. Nobody assigned that. No editor approved it. Paid subscribers did. Subscribe. The next question is already in the drafts folder.
Kudos for the scoops and for helping get something done!
Kudos for scooping this! Excellent news.