Microsoft's ties with ICE come under fire amidst allegations that the company's cloud and AI technology are being used to support mass surveillance of US citizens

No Azure for Apartheid, a worker-led organization that's previously carried out multiple protests over Microsoft's dealing with the Israeli military and its campaign in Gaza, has issued a statement calling on the company to end its relationship with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency more commonly known as ICE.

The statement follows reporting by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call that found ICE had tripled the amount of data it stored on Microsoft's Azure servers between July 2025 and January 2026, to an astounding 1,400 terabytes, and also appears to be using Microsoft's AI tools to search and analyze that data. Microsoft denied any allegation of wrongdoing, saying its terms and services forbid the use of its technology in mass surveillance of civilians, and that "we do not believe ICE is engaged in such activity."

ICE is currently the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the US, which has enabled it to spend big on technologies across an array of companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and Palantir, which have collectively pulled in tens of millions of dollars in ICE spending.

Cloud storage was a major part of that spend; while the leaked documents in The Guardian and +972 reports do not specify what information ICE is storing, they do indicate that the agency has used Azure's "blob storage" for raw data, as well as AI tools that can analyze images and video, and translate text.

"This news should come as no shock to the general public," No Azure for Apartheid said in its statement. "Microsoft continues their role as a digital arms dealer, building and enabling systems that terrorize, surveil, displace, and murder people across the globe: from AI and surveillance technologies deployed against Palestinians on occupied Palestinian land, to tools used to target civilian and migrant communities living on stolen Indigenous land in the United States."

Microsoft told No Azure for Apartheid that it does not believe that ICE is engaging in the "mass surveillance of citizens" in the US, the statement says, and that the company has "no visibility over the kind of data ICE is storing on Azure."

That echoes a statement released by Microsoft in May 2025 regarding the Israel Ministry of Defense's use of Azure service, in which the company said it "does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices ... nor do we have visibility to the IMOD’s government cloud operations."

Subsequent reporting laid out details about the relationship between Microsoft and the Israeli military, after which Microsoft president Brad Smith said the company actually had "found evidence that supports elements" of those reports, and disabled some of the services being used by IMOD.

"No Azure for Apartheid recognizes that the same Microsoft Cloud & AI technology that forms the technological backbone of Israel's apartheid and genocide is the same technology that powers ICE's violence towards migrants and communities in the United States," the statement continues.

"We, as Microsoft workers, stand in solidarity both with Palestinians and the communities and families in the United States who are being terrorized, detained, murdered, and deported by ICE. We echo the demands of hundreds of workers and community members who spoke out as early as 2018 to demand Microsoft cut ties with ICE."

Those workers include a separate group of "tech industry professionals in the United States" who have launched a petition at ICEout.tech, calling for the withdrawal of ICE from all US cities and the cancellation of contracts with the agency.

In a statement provided to PC Gamer, a spokesperson said "Microsoft provides cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools to DHS and ICE, delivered through our key partners. Microsoft 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.

"There currently are 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."