Key points
- Trump administration has added 6,000 immigrants to a database of dead Social Security recipients
- Officials say effort could broaden to include others in the country without authorisation
- Move to use “death file” was spearheaded by staff from Musk’s DOGE
ISLAMABAD: The Trump administration is moving to cancel lawfully obtained Social Security numbers in an effort to pressure immigrants to “self deport” by cutting people off from using crucial financial services like bank accounts and credit cards, along with their access to government benefits, The New York Times reported.
The AFP reported Thursday that the Trump administration has added more than 6,000 immigrants to a database of dead Social Security recipients, effectively cutting off benefits and their ability to work.
The initial names are limited to people the administration claims are convicted criminals and “suspected terrorists,” The New York Times reported. But officials said the effort could broaden to include others in the country without authorisation.
Adding the immigrants to the so-called “death file” is “aimed at putting pressure on the undocumented immigrants to leave the country,” the Washington Post said, citing a White House official.
Anti-immigration measures
The policy aligns with other high-profile anti-immigration measures taken by Donald Trump’s White House since his second term began, including sending more than 200 suspected gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador, AFP reported.
Hundreds of thousands of people who are in the country illegally nevertheless have a US Social Security Number.
Many arrived during the Biden administration, which allowed certain people to enter temporarily as a way of reducing illegal border crossings, according to AFP.
Media reported that the move to use the “death file” was spearheaded by staff from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Weaponizing the Social Security system against undocumented migrants follows steps taken to share taxpayer information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with immigration authorities announced on Tuesday.
Millions of undocumented migrants have long paid taxes as a way of boosting both their immigration cases and the financial health of massive US federal programs such as Social Security.
