French lawmakers have demanded an explanation after one of the country’s biggest tech companies signed a multimillion dollar contract to help the US enforcement agency ICE trace and expel migrants.

The revelation that a subsidiary of Capgemini, a multinational digital services firm listed on the Paris stock exchange, had agreed to provide “skip tracing” – a technique for locating targeted people – with big bonuses if successful, has provoked outrage in France.

Ministers and MPs are calling for more transparency over contracts that could breach human rights. ICE is facing an intense backlash after its agents shot dead two US citizens in Minnesota this month.

Capgemini admitted that its US subsidiary, Capgemini Group Solutions (CGS), had signed a contract with ICE in December but said it had not yet come into effect.

The website Observatoire des Multinationales, a corporate watchdog, revealed that CGS had agreed a $4.8m deal with ICE’s Detention Compliance and Removals office for “investigation and personal background check services”. The document states that CGS will provide “skip tracing services for enforcement and removal operations” with bonuses of up to $365m for successfully identifying and localising foreigners.

  • whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works
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    1 day ago

    https://www.capgemini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Capgemini-CBE_2021_English-v3.2.pdf page 2:

    Our Code of Business Ethics does not rule out the need to exercise good judgment, but rather helps us to do the right thing. When in doubt, you should ask yourself the following questions: Does it feel right? Is it in line with the Group Values, Code of Business Ethics and other company policies? Would I be comfortable explaining it to fellow team members, team managers, clients, family or, externally, to the press? Is it legal? If the answer to even one of these questions is “no”, it is probably not the right thing to do. Open a dialogue with your team manager, your Ethics & Compliance Officer, […]

    • Evolushan@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      Idk why but I could imagine someone bringing this up in capgemini and getting fired over it. But most likely they just don’t care cause nobody cares about ethics when money is involved.

    • zeograd@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      I like how illegal is just “probably not the right thing to do”, and is open to discussion.