LexisNexis Risk Solutions helps customers across industry and government assess and manage risk, as well as detect and prevent online fraud and money laundering, by providing customers with innovative technologies, information-based analytics and decision tools and data services. As part of these services, LexisNexis Risk Solutions supports U.S. federal law enforcement agencies in their important work to protect our country. Under the new Biden Administration, in March 2021 LexisNexis Risk Solutions was awarded a contract to provide an investigative tool to the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We entered into this contract understanding that the mission of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the new Administration had changed to focus immigration enforcement resources on people with serious criminal backgrounds.
We’ve put together a list of questions we’re asked most frequently about what we do and don’t do for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In March 2021, LexisNexis Risk Solutions began a five-year contract worth $3.2m a year to provide an investigation tool for the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The tool promotes public safety and is not used to prevent legal immigration nor is it used to remove individuals from the United States unless they pose a serious threat to public safety including child trafficking, drug smuggling and other serious criminal activity.
This contract was signed after President Biden’s Executive Order of January 21, 2021 which revised Homeland Security’s civil immigration enforcement policies and priorities, emphasizing human rights and focusing on threats to national security, public safety and security at the border.
The LexisNexis investigative solution allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to manage information during law enforcement investigations. These investigations include terrorism, national security and public safety cases, narcotics smuggling, organized crime, transnational gang activity, child exploitation, human smuggling and trafficking, illegal exports of controlled technology and weapons, money laundering, financial fraud, cybercrime and intellectual property theft. We entered into this contract understanding that the mission of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Biden Administration is to focus immigration enforcement resources on people with serious criminal backgrounds.
Under the Biden Administration policies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not use the technology to track individuals that may have committed minor offenses. It is strictly used for identifying individuals with serious criminal backgrounds.
Any suggestion the tool is an instrument to help separate families at the border is false. In fact, it is frequently employed to reunite families and protect innocent people hoping for a better life in this country from criminals who seek to prey on vulnerable individuals.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions does not provide the Department of Homeland Security or US Immigration and Customs Enforcement with license plate images or facial recognition capabilities.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions regularly monitors use of its technology by all customers and does regular checks and audits to ensure its services are being used for their intended purpose. Any misuses are investigated immediately and are stopped on discovery.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions has a contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enable the agency to vet its employees. The contract is not related to immigration.
In addition, LexisNexis Legal & Professional, a sister company of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, has a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which provides immigration detainees with free access to a customized LexisNexis legal research service so they can better understand their rights, mount legal defenses and prepare appeals. The service includes immigration law materials as well as user guides in English and Spanish.
LexisNexis Legal & Professional products are often used by law students at universities to provide pro bono legal support for undocumented immigrants and detainees. No such law school (or law firm) searches are sold or licensed to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or to any other government or commercial organization.
Two LexisNexis Risk Solutions products use military personnel data to help banks and other financial firms comply with federal laws that protect members of the military.
Beyond this tightly controlled use, which protects members of the military, our products do not use military status data.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions does not provide data to Palantir.
In 2006, REV Venture partners, the venture capital arm of RELX, the parent company of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, became an early-stage investor in Palantir. At the time of Palantir’s initial public offering in September 2020, REV’s stake represented only about 0.5% of group’s equity. It has since sold its entire holding.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ data is used by a number of different sectors in a wide number of ways that benefit society. These include:
LexisNexis is committed to a clearly defined Code of Ethics and Business Conduct which mandates the company “support and respect international human rights” and works to ensure it is “not complicit in human rights abuses.”
As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact Ten Principles related to human rights (through its parent company, RELX), LexisNexis Risk Solutions stands against all human trafficking and will not tolerate it in any part of the business. In addition, the company’s Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, as disseminated to every employee, sets the standard for corporate and individual behavior.
The United Nations Global Compact ten principles are reflected in the Code, which stresses our commitment to respecting human rights, among other provisions. The Code clearly mandates the company to “support and respect international human rights” and works to ensure it is “not complicit in human rights abuses.”
It is our understanding the Biden Administration’s new policies have made clear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities shall not violate non-citizens’ civil rights and civil liberties.