Immigration advocates balk as Maria Elvira Salazar cheers Palantir relocation to Miami

U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar became one of the first political leaders to cheer Palantir’s relocation to Miami. But Democrats spy trouble in embracing a company surveilling immigrant communities.

“Welcome to Miami, Palantir Tech!” Salazar posted on X less than 90 minutes after the company announced its corporate relocation.

The Coral Gables Republican cited Florida’s business environment and a growing tech and finance sector in Miami.

“Like so many companies choosing to plant their flag here, you’ll find a city built for growth, low taxes, smart regulation and a skilled workforce ready to get to work. Miami is open for business, and the future is being built right here,” she posted.

But area Democrats immediately criticized Salazar’s enthusiasm.

“Why are you celebrating a company that is developing surveillance and detention systems for ICE moving to Miami?” posted Thomas Kennedy, a policy analyst with the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) also pounced.

“The truth is out – Salazar’s parading around and feigning support for migrant communities was never anything more than empty words,” said DCCC spokesperson Madison Andrus.

“As communities in her district are being ripped apart, the economy is falling out from underneath them, and Latino voters run from her party, this officially marks the end of Salazar’s little book tour — that’s all this was anyway.”

Palantir launched in Silicon Valley in California, with Republican megadonor Peter Thiel among the firm’s co-founders. The company re-located to Colorado in 2020.

The business in February announced a record $1.4 billion in revenue in the final quarter of 2025. But the massive growth controversially followed a partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Critics have leveled particular disdain at ImmigrationOS, surveillance technology developed with a $30 million federal grant that employs artificial intelligence and data mining to identify, track and detain suspected immigrants in the country, including violent criminals and those overstaying visas.

The controversial technology development prompted protests, including marches outside Amazon demanding that firm cuts its ties to Palantir.

Notably, Gov. Ron DeSantis has strongly supported ICE and President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, requiring law enforcement agencies to work directly with ICE and establishing detention centers to expedite removal of undocumented immigrants out of the state and country.

In that sense, Florida could be a better match than Colorado, where Democratic Gov. Jared Polis sharply criticized ICE activity in the state.

But the deportations also prompted backlash in Miami, where more than half of residents were born outside of the U.S., according to census data. That has prompted Salazar to distance herself from Republican rhetoric demonizing immigrants and to criticize ICE cracking down on non-criminals. She said election results in New Jersey and Virginia in November already show the issue hurting the party.

“If the GOP does not deliver, we will lose the Hispanic vote all over the country, and unfortunately, it happened in New Jersey and Virginia,” Salazar said in November. “Hispanics moved back more than 25 points to the Democratic Party — 25 points. … The GOP would have had a much better chance of winning (if) the Hispanics’ vote would have stuck with the GOP.”

Democrats in Washington clearly agree, which is part of why the DCCC already lists Florida’s 27th Congressional District among those in play in the 2026 Midterms, despite Trump winning 56.7% of the vote there in 2024.