Capgemini to divest US unit following pressure over ICE contracts

French IT giant Capgemini will immediately begin selling its American subsidiary Capgemini Government Solutions after facing parliamentary scrutiny and government demands for transparency over contracts that enable US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track and deport individuals.

The company announced on Sunday that legal restrictions on contractors working with federal agencies conducting classified activities prevented it from exercising adequate oversight of the subsidiary's operations. CGS accounts for 0.4 per cent of Capgemini's estimated 2025 global revenue and less than 2 per cent of its American turnover.

The decision follows sustained pressure from French ministers after campaign group Multinationals Observatory revealed that CGS had secured contracts worth $4.8 million to provide skip tracing services to ICE. Skip tracing involves locating people whose whereabouts are unknown using data analysis and private investigators, with the December contract offering performance bonuses for successfully identifying foreign nationals.

Finance minister Roland Lescure told the National Assembly last week that he had urged Capgemini to examine its activities transparently and question their nature. The minister criticised the group for insufficient oversight of its subsidiaries after chief executive Aiman Ezzat said the company had only recently learnt of the contract's nature through public sources.

Parliamentary criticism intensified following the fatal shootings of Americans Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minnesota during enforcement operations. The killings sparked international condemnation and protests across the US as the Trump administration pursues aggressive deportation quotas backed by an additional $75 billion in ICE funding.

Public procurement records show CGS holds 13 current contracts with ICE. A since-removed webpage from Capgemini's site, captured by Multinationals Observatory, described how the company worked closely with the agency's enforcement and removal operations to reduce expulsion delays and costs.

Left-wing opposition MP Hadrien Clouet called for sanctions against French firms collaborating with ICE. Armed forces minister Catherine Vautrin said contracts held by French groups deserved close scrutiny on human rights grounds. The CGT union at Capgemini demanded immediate cessation of all ICE partnerships, describing them as contrary to company values and complicit in human rights violations.

In an internal message to employees, Capgemini executive Mathieu Dougados acknowledged the contract raised legitimate questions but said US regulations prevented the Paris-based parent company from obtaining details of CGS's technical operations. He added that the contract was not currently being executed as it faced a legal appeal.



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