Thomson Reuters employees in Minnesota are demanding their employer halt a $22.8 million contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), citing concerns over the company’s investigative software being used to surveil and intimidate local immigrant communities. The pushback intensified after ICE’s Operation Metro Surge, which saw agents raid schools and homes in Minneapolis, including an incident where an employee’s child’s school was targeted. A letter signed by over 200 staff members urges the company to reject ICE’s renewal, arguing the tools risk violating the firm’s values and legal standards. “We question if our products are being used in line with our mission and the Constitution,” the letter states.

The protest began after an Instagram post by labor professor Eric Blanc listed Thomson Reuters as a corporate collaborator with ICE. Employees discovered the company’s role via internal channels and organized via encrypted platforms like Signal. A subsidiary, Thomson Reuters Special Services, provides license-plate lookup tools to ICE, alarming workers who’ve witnessed ICE agents harass protesters, such as reciting addresses of peaceful demonstrators. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights by using such data.

Thomson Reuters’ spokesperson emphasized compliance with contractual terms and law, but employees remain unconvinced. Shareholder pressure mounts via the British Columbia General Employees’ Union, which has urged the company to adopt human rights due diligence for AI-enabled products. The union’s head, Emma Pullman, called the firm “the gas in the tank” powering ICE’s operations.

This conflict highlights growing corporate accountability debates as tech firms grapple with government contracts tied to controversial policies. The outcome could set precedents for how businesses balance client demands with ethical obligations.