The Trump administration has moved to effectively wipe out their ability to receive jobs and benefits in an effort to leave the country, killing more than 6,000 live immigrants, canceling their Social Security numbers and, according to two people familiar with the situation, they have said.
This move makes it much more difficult for affected people to use banks and other basic services that require a Social Security number. President Donald Trump is part of a broader effort to crack down on immigrants who are temporarily allowed to enter the United States and remain under a program enacted by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
The Trump administration has moved immigrant names and legally acquired Social Security numbers to the databases federal officials normally use to track down the deceased. They spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night as plans had not yet been made public.
Officials said the deprivation of immigrants of their Social Security Numbers would cut them off from many financial services, encouraging them to “self-abolize” and abandon the United States for their birth country.
It was not immediately clear how more than 6,000 immigrants were chosen. However, the Trump White House is temporarily targeting people across the country under a Biden-era program, including more than 900,000 immigrants who entered the United States using one of its administration’s CBP apps.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security revoked the legal status of immigrants who used the app. They were generally allowed to remain in the United States for two years with permission to work under Biden-era presidential parole authorities, but self-reports are now expected.
Meanwhile, a federal judge said Thursday that the Trump administration has ordered hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to leave the country later this month, where they have temporary legal status.
Representatives from the Social Security Agency did not respond to requests for comment on the news that live migrants are classified as dead. The agency maintains the most complete federal database of individuals who have died, with files containing more than 142 million records dating back to 1899.
Privacy Act allows the Social Security Agency to disclose information to law enforcement in limited circumstances, including when a violent crime is committed or the inclusion of other criminal acts.
The deprivation of the DHS and the Treasury Department signed a transaction this week that allows the IRS to share immigrant tax data with immigration and customs enforcement agencies with the aim of illegally identifying people in the United States and deporting them.
Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Kraus, who had served in that capacity since February, has resigned from the contract.
Meanwhile, in March, a federal judge temporarily blocked a government-reduced team led by billionaire Elon Musk, who has cut federal jobs and holds personal data on millions of Americans, where he called the work a “fishing expedition.”
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, an advocacy group that challenged various Trump administration efforts in court, said her organization and her social security numbers would also be sued, saying details will be available once more.
“This president has been violating the law, violating the law, and continuing to abuse the system of checks and balance,” Perryman said.
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