While Microsoft has publicly distanced itself from the Trump Administration, it appears quite prepared to collaborate with ICE within the US.
Over the past six years or more, Microsoft has made significant efforts to cultivate an image as a more benevolent and considerate technology firm, standing apart from other major tech giants such as Meta, Google, Amazon, and, following Donald J. Trump’s election to the presidency in 2024, Apple.
The New York Times highlighted the company’s initiatives, observing that after spending the 1990s and early 2000s as the dominant, often criticized, tech player, Microsoft now “appears to be vying for a distinct position: that of the industry’s moral compass… Satya Nadella, its chief executive, and Brad Smith, its president, have become prominent voices within the sector, advocating for user privacy and defining ethical standards for emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.”
With Trump’s re-entry into office, the company’s commitment to this role seemingly intensified. In contrast, leading executives from Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon were notably present at last year’s inauguration. These companies largely complied with his policies, engaged in frequent meetings, and offered regular commendations, with Apple CEO Tim Cook even presenting him with a gift substantially crafted from 24-karat gold.
Nadella and Microsoft, however, presented a different picture. He chose not to attend Trump’s inauguration. Microsoft discontinued its engagement with the Simpson Thacher & Bartlett law firm after the firm agreed to provide the administration with $125 million in pro bono legal services under duress from Trump. (Microsoft subsequently engaged Jenner & Block, a firm that had initiated legal action against the Trump administration rather than acquiescing to its demands.)
Furthermore, when Trump insisted that Microsoft dismiss Lisa Monaco, who had recently been appointed as its president of global affairs, due to her prior role as the second-highest official in Biden’s Justice Department and her oversight of Trump’s prosecution for mishandling classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Microsoft declined to comply.
The company increasingly appeared to embody the tech industry’s moral compass.
Microsoft’s Extensive Data Engagements with ICE
However, a recent investigation, published a week ago by the UK’s The Guardian along with its partners +972 Magazine and Local Call, revealed that ICE is leveraging Microsoft’s Azure cloud storage to house substantial volumes of data, in addition to employing Microsoft AI tools for searching and analyzing this information. The findings indicated that ICE also utilizes numerous Microsoft productivity tools and potentially operates its proprietary tools and systems on Microsoft’s servers.
The inquiry uncovered a dramatic increase in the volume of data ICE stores on Microsoft’s cloud, which more than tripled from 400 terabytes to 1,400 terabytes between July 2025 and January 2026. This significant expansion can be attributed to Congress’s decision in July to boost ICE’s budget by $75 billion, designating it as the most heavily funded US law enforcement agency. Following this, ICE rapidly embarked on a technology acquisition spree, partly to enhance its surveillance capabilities.
The Guardian detailed the extensive scope of this surveillance, stating: “ICE, which has been compared to a domestic surveillance entity, has access to immense quantities of data concerning individuals residing in the US. It possesses an expanding array of surveillance technologies, including facial recognition applications, mobile phone location databases, drones, and intrusive spyware.”
The Guardian was unable to ascertain definitively if ICE is employing Microsoft’s cloud services for surveillance purposes. The report noted: “The documents do not clarify whether ICE utilizes Azure for storing or analyzing data gathered through its surveillance or intelligence operations, or if the cloud platform merely facilitates other functions, such as managing detention facilities or deportation flights.” However, the +972 article asserts that ICE is “employing AI tools capable of searching and analyzing images and videos” within the data housed on the Microsoft cloud.
When prompted by The Guardian, a Microsoft representative refrained from providing specific details regarding ICE’s usage of the company’s technologies. They did emphasize, however, that Microsoft’s policies “prohibit the use of our technology for the mass surveillance of civilians, and we do not think ICE is involved in such practices.”
The ambiguity of this response is noteworthy; the company merely states it does not “think” ICE is conducting mass surveillance with its technology. This suggests a lack of concrete knowledge—and perhaps a deliberate avoidance of certainty—as definitive confirmation might necessitate some form of intervention.
Microsoft Must Sever Ties with ICE Now
The question of whether the data serves surveillance purposes is, ultimately, secondary.
Surveillance represents just one facet of ICE’s extensive wrongdoings. Its agents, often masked and heavily armed, engage in daylight abductions; individuals are reportedly killed merely for protesting the agency’s conduct; it detains thousands of immigrants, including many residing legally in the US, despite their having no criminal records; it conducts unauthorized entries into private residences without valid warrants; it is in the process of constructing an expansive national detention infrastructure; and it has, in essence, imposed a state resembling martial law upon several US cities.
Crucially, Microsoft’s technology underpins ICE’s operations, regardless of its direct involvement in the agency’s surveillance activities.
In a notable instance last September, Microsoft withdrew the Israeli army’s access to its Azure cloud storage, citing the army’s use of the platform for mass surveillance in Palestine. This demonstrates that the company has, in the past, terminated agreements with government entities based on ethical considerations.
The moment has arrived for Microsoft to terminate all its agreements with ICE, an agency now thoroughly compromised. Microsoft cannot credibly claim to be the moral compass of the technology sector while simultaneously aiding ICE in any capacity.
Just two weeks prior, before the revelations about Microsoft’s collaboration with ICE surfaced, I strongly criticized Apple and its CEO for their compliance with Trump, and commended Microsoft for its resistance. Had the ICE arrangement been public then, I would unequivocally not have presented Microsoft and Nadella as exemplars of moral integrity.
