Trump Used Social Security Data to Build Immigration Tracking System

The Social Security Administration (SSA) quietly updated a federal notice last week confirming it has been sharing “citizenship and immigration information” with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—months after the data sharing had already begun, according to WIRED. Under the Privacy Act of 1974, this disclosure should have come before any data transfer. Adam Schwartz of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said that publishing the notice late means “they still have violated the law.”

WIRED previously reported that the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had already been pulling data from DHS, SSA, the Internal Revenue Service, and voter files, relying heavily on the USCIS SAVE system. Experts called the scale of this consolidation “unprecedented.” A separate DHS notice recently positioned SAVE as a voter-eligibility tool, raising additional concerns about bypassing federal privacy rules and creating a de facto citizenship database.

Leland Dudek, acting SSA commissioner from February to May 2025, said the new notice appears to expand the information DHS can access. Dudek explained that SSA historically could only deactivate a Social Security number when a person died, but the new SORN introduces a “special indicator code” that could flag a number without using the death file. “You can literally cut off anyone’s financial life you want,” he said.

The push aligns with the Trump administration’s broader immigration campaign, which includes ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, deploying the National Guard, and claiming more than 500,000 deportations. Officials have also sought more data on immigrants using federal programs and revived efforts to add a citizenship question to the U.S. Census.

Nikhel Sus, deputy counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), said the administration “was dead set on creating a national citizenship data bank” and repurposed SSA data without public input. “These belated systems of records notices only confirm after the fact that the government has run roughshod over the law,” he said. CREW and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) are suing, arguing the administration exceeded its authority.

John Davisson of EPIC said he is “not aware of something happening on this scale” and noted that the statute SSA cites—which dates back to the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)—does not give the agency “carte blanche” to share data. It merely prevents agencies from blocking lawful disclosures and does not override the Privacy Act.

A 2023 SSA letter to the Fair Elections Center also acknowledged that SSA records indicate—but do not confirm—citizenship, and that SSA lacks citizenship data for all Social Security number holders. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended the expanded use of SAVE, saying it helps states verify voter eligibility. SSA did not respond to requests for comment.

Experts warn the data merging includes inaccuracies. For example, SSA records do not automatically update when someone becomes a naturalized citizen. Sus said mismatches could block legally present individuals from working or voting. Dudek added that proper cross-matching and data cleaning would be necessary to avoid false positives. “I’m not aware of it being done, and that concerns me,” he said.

BY YEOL JANG [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]