Campaign Records Show Maasdam Refunded Palantir Executive's Contribution

Michigan Advance

July 21, 2026

After receiving a $3,500 campaign contribution from a Palantir Technologies executive, one Democrat seeking the nomination in Michigan’s competitive 7th Congressional District chose to return the money.

In September, Matt Maasdam, a former Navy SEAL and military aide to President Barack Obama, received $3,500 from Mehdi Alhassani, the head of government operations for Palantir Technologies, a data analytics company criticized for its contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Alhassani previously served as a special assistant to the deputy national security advisor under Obama.

Maasdam’s campaign refunded the contribution on Feb. 9, according to campaign finance records.

Headquartered in Denver, Colo., Palantir has faced scrutiny from groups including the ACLU, Amnesty International and the American Immigration Council for its role in expanding surveillance through large databases that use machine learning technology to identify patterns.

Since 2014, the company has run the Department of Homeland Security’s Investigative Case Management platform, which provides case-tracking capabilities and allows individuals to perform investigative research to build cases. The company received a $30 million contract in 2025 to upgrade the platform. According to the contract, the work is intended to streamline the “selection and apprehension operations of illegal aliens,” track self-deportation and streamline the deportation process from apprehension to removal.

“Our campaign does not have any money from Palantir employees,” Emma Grundhauser, a spokesperson for Maasdam’s campaign, said in a statement. “Matt received a contribution last year from a former colleague in the Obama White House. When it came to our attention that the donor worked for this group, we returned the contribution.”

Throughout his campaign, Maasdam has called for greater accountability and oversight for ICE and Department of Homeland Security officials, calling out “reckless ICE agents” as a threat to the Constitution in his campaign’s first ad.

“Matt has been clear over the course of this campaign that Donald Trump has weaponized ICE into a paramilitary force that is terrorizing American communities and treating people like enemy combatants, and he believes we need to clean house at ICE and fundamentally overhaul the agency,” Grundhauser said, noting Maasdam supports ending mass raids, requiring warrants for arrests and searches and independently prosecuting agents who break the law.

Maasdam’s Democratic opponents have also spoken out against ICE conduct, with former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink calling for an overhaul of the agency, while political organizer William Lawrence has pledged to hold ICE accountable for unconstitutional conduct.

Neither Brink nor Lawrence has received campaign contributions from Palantir employees, according to a search of the Federal Election Commission’s campaign finance database.

All three Democrats are vying to run in November against U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte), who has received $7,000 in contributions from Palantir Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President Shyam Sankar.

When asked about the contribution, Barrett campaign strategist Jason Roe told Michigan Advance it was the first he’d heard of it.

“I don’t think we have any heartburn about their modest contribution,” Roe said. “It’s not necessarily a reflection of what Tom’s views are on what they care about, but probably recognition that they think Tom is a thoughtful member of Congress.”

Border security was a key issue for Barrett’s 2024 campaign, with Barrett casting his first vote in Congress in support of the Laken Riley Act. That legislation requires Department of Homeland Security officials to detain noncitizens arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person. The law also permits states to sue the government over “alleged failures” related to immigration enforcement.

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