ICE reliance on Microsoft technology surged amid immigration crackdown, documents show

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 5 min read 100% complete by Harry Davies and Yuval AbrahamFebruary 17, 2026 at 07:06 PM

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Leaked documents reveal that ICE significantly increased its reliance on Microsoft's Azure cloud technology in 2025 as the agency expanded its operations. ICE tripled its data storage on Azure in the six months leading up to January 2026, coinciding with a budget increase and workforce expansion. The agency appears to be utilizing Microsoft's productivity tools and AI to analyze data stored in Azure, potentially running some of its own systems on Microsoft servers. The documents, obtained by the Guardian and partners, raise questions about whether Microsoft technology is facilitating ICE's immigration enforcement activities. Both Microsoft and Amazon have benefited from deals worth millions of dollars as ICE increased spending on cloud computing.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Minneapolis 30% +972 Magazine 30% Local Call 30% The Guardian 40% Palantir 40% Congress 40% Amazon 40% Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 50% Trump administration 60% Azure ×470% Microsoft ×680% Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ×1090%

Keywords

ice 100% microsoft 90% cloud technology 80% immigration crackdown 70% azure 60% data storage 60% surveillance technology 50% deportation 50% data analysis 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

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Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Minneapolis

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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