Trump administration axes thousands of immigrants from social security
6 Min Read
The controversial step fits into a broader crackdown on immigration during Donald Trump’s second term, which has included the transfer of over 200 alleged gang members to a notorious Salvadoran prison.
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Demonstrators gather outside the Edward A. Garmatz United States District Courthouse in Baltimore, on Friday, March 14, 2025, before a hearing regarding the Department of Government Efficiency's access to Social Security data. (AP)
The Trump administration has added over 6,000 immigrants to the government’s list of deceased Social Security recipients, effectively cutting them off from federal benefits and blocking their ability to work, according to US media reports on Thursday.
The move is “aimed at putting pressure on the undocumented immigrants to leave the country,” The Washington Post reported, citing a White House official.
The controversial step fits into a broader crackdown on immigration during Donald Trump’s second term, which has included the transfer of over 200 alleged gang members to a notorious Salvadoran prison.
The wider context
In the United States, a Social Security Number (SSN) is a critical identifier used to track earnings, determine eligibility for public benefits, and facilitate access to housing, employment, and banking services. Although undocumented, hundreds of thousands of immigrants currently possess valid SSNs.
Many of these individuals entered the US during the Biden administration, which had implemented a temporary entry system intended to curb illegal crossings.
Once a person is added to the so-called “death file” in the Social Security database, “they will be shut out by many employers, landlords and banks as well as federal agencies,” the White House official told The Washington Post—a move that essentially makes it impossible for them to work or function within society.
Media outlets say the policy was developed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump-era agency led by billionaire Elon Musk. According to The New York Times, internal documents show the first batch of 6,300 names included “convicted criminals and ‘suspected terrorists.’”
However, both newspapers reported that the program may soon expand to target a broader group of undocumented immigrants.
The tactic of weaponizing the Social Security system follows a related announcement earlier this week that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will begin sharing taxpayer data with immigration authorities.
Millions of undocumented workers have historically paid taxes in hopes of strengthening their immigration status and supporting major public programs like Social Security.
Most migrants in mega-prison lack criminal records: Report
A CBS News 60 Minutes report revealed last Sunday that three-fourths of the Venezuelan migrants flown from Texas to a notorious maximum security prison in El Salvador had no apparent criminal record. This finding raises concerns about the deportations, especially since many of the migrants were removed after President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expedite the removal of Venezuelan migrants suspected of gang affiliations.
Civil liberties groups have criticized the move, pointing out the lack of due process and arguing that the United States is not at war, making the use of this 18th-century wartime law unjustified.
According to the 60 Minutes report, 75% of the 238 migrants sent to El Salvador’s Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) had no criminal records. Of those remaining, at least 22% had records for non-violent offenses such as theft, shoplifting, and trespassing, with only a dozen accused of violent crimes like murder, rape, assault, and kidnapping. Some deported individuals had no criminal record at all, while it is unclear whether others had records abroad.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson alleged that some individuals without criminal records "are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters, and more," but have not been documented in the US system. Border Czar Tom Homan emphasized that immigration agents conducted thorough checks to confirm the migrants’ ties to the Tren de Aragua gang.
However, the US Department of Justice recently admitted in court that a Salvadoran national, Juan Abrego Garcia, was wrongfully deported to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia, living legally in Maryland, was detained by immigration agents and deported after a mistaken change in his status.
The 60 Minutes report highlights what many families of deported migrants have affirmed—wrongful deportations based on misinterpreted tattoos—and further legal challenges are expected as the Trump administration faces a drop in overall immigrant removals despite high-profile deportations.
US connected migrants to criminal gangs based on clothing, tattoos
Earlier this month, new court papers revealed that the Trump administration accused migrants of belonging to criminal gangs based on their clothing or tattoos.
In the court papers submitted, lawyers for the Venezuelan migrants produced a government document titled "Alien Enemy Validation Guide," which laid out a series of criteria that administration officials are required to meet to designate the men as members of Tren de Aragua, ensuring a comprehensive and detailed explanation of the process without concluding any thought prematurely.
Using the Alien Enemies Act, the White House ordered the expulsion of over 100 migrants, denying them any due process to contest the allegations.
The document outlined a scoring system to determine whether migrants were affiliated with the gang, commonly known as TdA, specifying that an individual needed at least eight points to be classified as a member. Under this system, any migrant who confessed to gang membership automatically received 10 points—immediately marking them as part of TdA and making them eligible for deportation under the Alien Enemies Act without further review.
However, the document also states that officials can assign four points to a migrant just for having "TdA-affiliated tattoos" and another four points if law enforcement determines the individual "wears clothing, symbols, or other markings associated with the gang"—effectively allowing subjective judgments to meet the threshold for deportation.
The document further allows officials to classify migrants as Tren de Aragua members based solely on wearing "high-end urban streetwear"—specifically citing Chicago Bulls merchandise or Michael Jordan apparel as grounds for suspicion.
The lawyers contested the administration's broad application of the Alien Enemies Act, arguing that officials have misapplied the law, which is intended for use only during a declared war or a foreign invasion.
A month prior, Washington's Federal District Court Judge James E. Boasberg temporarily blocked the White House from using the law to deport Venezuelans, prompting the Trump administration to request the Supreme Court to pause the judge's order while it evaluates the case's legal merits.
Read more: US threatens Venezuela: Accept deportees or face sanctions
