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

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deepened its reliance on Microsoft’s cloud technology last year as the agency ramped up arrest and deportation operations, leaked documents reveal.

ICE more than tripled the amount of data it stored in Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform in the six months leading up to January 2026, a period in which the agency’s budget swelled and its workforce rapidly expanded, according to the files.

ICE appears to be using a range of Microsoft’s productivity tools, as well as AI-driven products, to search and analyze the data it holds in Azure. Files suggest some of the agency’s own tools and systems may also be running on Microsoft servers.

The documents – obtained by the Guardian and its partners +972 Magazine and Local Call – raise questions about whether Microsoft technology is facilitating an immigration crackdown by an agency accused of conducting unlawful operations and using excessive force on a large scale.

ICE enforcement operations have surged over the past year as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. The agency is now at the center of a battle in Congress over its funding, sparked by the deaths of two people in Minneapolis, that has led to a partial shutdown of the US government.

In July, ICE received a $75bn budget increase, making it the highest-funded US law enforcement body. With this unprecedented increase in funds, the agency has embarked on a spending spree on technology, awarding contracts to large firms such as Palantir alongside lesser-known providers.

ICE, which has been likened to a domestic surveillance agency, enjoys access to vast troves of data on people living in the US. It has a growing arsenal of surveillance technology, including facial recognition apps, phone location databases, drones and invasive spyware.

As the agency expanded through 2025, it boosted spending on cloud computing. Amazon and Microsoft, both longtime providers to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have emerged as beneficiaries of deals worth tens of millions of dollars struck by third-party resellers.

The leaked documents do not specify the kinds of information stored by ICE on Microsoft servers. However, they indicate the agency has used Azure services including “blob storage” of raw data, as well as AI tools that analyze images and videos, and translate text.

In January, according to the files, ICE held almost 1,400 terabytes in Azure, which if only comprised of photographs would be equivalent to approximately 490m images. This was up from 400 terabytes in July 2025 after climbing through the second half of last year, files suggest.

ICE is also using virtual machines on Azure, according to the documents. These are effectively computers that run in the cloud but that can be accessed remotely. ICE appears to be renting these high-powered computers to run software.

The agency, which has more than doubled its workforce since January 2025, is also understood to have significantly expanded its access to Microsoft’s suite of productivity apps which provide users with access to document management tools and an AI chatbot.

It’s unclear from the files whether ICE is using Azure to store or analyze information collected through any of its surveillance or intelligence gathering activities, or whether the cloud platform supports other functions, such as the running of detention centers or deportation flights. ICE did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Microsoft said it “provides cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools to DHS and ICE, delivered through our key partners”. They said Microsoft’s policies and terms of service “do not allow our technology to be used for the mass surveillance of civilians, and we do not believe ICE is engaged in such activity”.

The spokesperson added: “There are currently many public issues relating to immigration enforcement, and we believe Congress, the executive branch, and the courts have the opportunity to draw clear legal lines regarding the allowable use of emerging technologies by law enforcement.”

According to Microsoft sources, several employees have in recent months raised concerns internally about ICE’s use of the company’s technology, including by filing internal ethics reports.

In December 2025, the company responded to one such report by stating that it did not have any current contracts that “support immigration enforcement”. The company later appeared to narrow this position. It acknowledged to employees it had contracts with ICE and DHS, but said it “does not currently maintain AI services contracts tied specifically to enforcement activities”.

Microsoft is not alone in facing disquiet among employees over its business with federal immigration authorities. For large US tech groups, ICE and sister agency Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have long been customers, but have become increasingly controversial for their aggressive tactics and involvement in fatal shootings.

Last week, Amazon workers and activists protested outside the company’s Seattle headquarters, demanding the company cut ties with federal immigration agencies. The company benefits from a series of large cloud deals with DHS to provide cloud infrastructure to ICE and CBP.

At Google, which provides cloud services to both agencies, more than 1,300 workers have signed a recent petition with a similar set of demands. “DHS is violating civil and national law as well as civil and human rights,” the petition reads. “We must end our complicity in powering them.”

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