French IT giant Capgemini said Sunday it was selling its subsidiary working for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency amid international controversy over the deaths of two people in ICE operations.
French tech company Capgemini said on Sunday it was selling its US subsidiary Capgemini Government Solutions after coming under pressure in recent days to explain a contract it signed with US immigration enforcement agency ICE.
Capgemini, which operates in about 50 countries and is one of France's largest listed companies, held an extraordinary board meeting this weekend after being the subject of questions in parliament and calls for transparency from the government.
The group's contract with ICE was first revealed by independent media outlet l’Observatoire des multinationales (Multinationals Observatory).
The outlet said Capgemini's subsidiary had been providing services to ICE even before signing the contract in December with US President Donald Trump's administration.
It found Capgemini sold "skip tracing" services – a form of data-driven locating and tracking of individuals whose whereabouts are unknown – used by ICE to verify home and work addresses and support removal operations as part of a large-scale anti-immigration crackdown.
The killings of two people – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – by ICE and border patrol (CBP) agents in Minneapolis last month have made world headlines, provoking widespread condemnation of the American agency.
"The divestiture process of this business will be initiated immediately," the company said in a statement, referring to Capgemini Government Solutions.
Protests continue
"Capgemini determined that the customary legal restrictions imposed for contracting with federal government entities carrying out classified activities in the United States did not allow the Group to exercise appropriate control over certain aspects of the operations of this subsidiary," the statement said.
The subsidiary represents 0.4 percent of the group's global 2025 estimated revenue and less than two percent of its US revenue, the company said.
In an internal message sent to employees, the group said that the disputed contract, awarded in December, was "the subject of an appeal".
France steps up pressure over IT firm Capgemini’s ICE ties
Chief executive Aiman Ezzat wrote on LinkedIn last week that the management "were recently made aware, through public sources" of the contract with Capgemini Government Solutions.
At CGS, "decision making is separate, networks are firewalled, and the Capgemini group cannot access any classified information (or) classified contracts," Ezzat added.
Public US government documents show that the ICE-CGS contract signed on 18 December is worth $4.8 million.
The revelations sparked uproar in France and earned a rebuke from Economy Minister Roland Lescure, who called for transparency.
Meanwhile, thousands of protesters continued to rally in Minneapolis this week in the latest show of anger over Trump's immigration crackdown.
Demonstrators also held rallies in New York and across Los Angeles, where immigration raids last year sparked protests, with thousands carrying signs outside City Hall.
In Washington, the federal government entered a partial shutdown at midnight Friday following Democratic anger over the crackdown, which derailed talks over new funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
(with AFP)
