Social Security data is shared openly with DHS to target immigrants

last week, Social Security Administration The SSA has quietly updated a public notice to reveal that the agency will share “citizenship and immigration information” with… Department of Homeland Security (Department of Homeland Security). This data sharing was already happening: WIRED reported in April The Trump administration has already begun collecting sensitive data from across the government for the purpose of enforcing immigration laws.

This public notice from the SSA makes this official, months after the fact. Known as a System of Record Notice (SORN), the notice is a document that explains how the agency will share the data it has, with whom, and for what purpose. This notice is required under the Privacy Act 1974. Typically, SORNs are issued before any data is shared between agencies, giving the public and government officials ample time to provide comment. but WIRED found The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was pulling data from the Department of Homeland Security, the SSA, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and state voter data, among other sources, relying largely on the Systematic Verification of Aliens for Entitlements (SAVE) database of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).

“There are laws that require the government to inform the public about its use of different types of databases and other surveillance technologies,” says Adam Schwartz, director of privacy issues at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit focused on digital privacy and free expression. “If the government starts using the database and doesn’t make proper disclosure, then they will later He does “They published this appropriate disclosure, but they are still violating the law.”

The Trump administration has gone to great lengths to reshape the government in its image. It was the key element in this Effortless to unload large areas of data from Through federal agenciesmany of which were never meant to be mixed. This has often happened regardless of the laws, standards, or procedures that typically govern access to and sharing of sensitive data. SSA’s SORN is just the latest confirmation of exactly how much data is being shared in ways experts say WIRED is “unprecedented.”

Much of this data sharing starts with misinformation about the data available. In the early days of the Trump administration, Elon Musk exploited a misunderstanding of SSA data Post the claim That people as old as 150 were receiving benefits. This was not the case, but DOGE took advantage of the idea that SSA’s systems were ineffective and rogue to infiltrate the agency’s data and technology systems. In April, a report from New York Times It found that in an attempt to force immigrants to self-deport, the administration was adding them to the SSA’s database of the dead, effectively meaning their Social Security numbers couldn’t be used to get jobs or access government services. As part of an effort to integrate disparate data across the government for citizenship verification and immigrant monitoring, the Department of Homeland Security recently published SORN is different but related Which effectively turns SAVE into a voter verification system, which experts have also warned could exceed privacy law requirements.

Leland Dodek, who served as acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration between February and May 2025, led the agency when DOGE members Appeared for the first time. Dudek says it was Supportive at first of DOGE and served as a bridge between SSA staff and DOGE team members before they became disillusioned.