Data Sharing Between SSA and DHS: A Case of Unprecedented Surveillance and Legal Concerns

Last week, the Social Security Administration (SSA) quietly updated a public notice, formally disclosing its intent to share "citizenship and immigration information" with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This disclosure, while presented as new, follows reporting by WIRED in April 2025 indicating that the Trump administration had already initiated the consolidation of sensitive data across federal agencies for immigration enforcement purposes.

System of Record Notice (SORN): A Regulatory Anomaly

The SSA’s disclosure is contained within a System of Record Notice (SORN), a legal document mandated by the Privacy Act of 1974. SORNs are traditionally required before data sharing commences, allowing public and governmental stakeholders to review and comment on data governance protocols. However, this SORN was issued post facto, months after the data sharing mechanism was operational.

The notice identifies the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as the primary actor in aggregating data from multiple sources, including SSA, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state voter databases, and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database.

Legal Compliance and Privacy Violations

Legal experts have criticized the SSA’s delayed SORN as a violation of statutory requirements. Adam Schwartz, Privacy Litigation Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), emphasized: "The government has a legal obligation to disclose data use practices proactively. Post-hoc disclosure, even if technically compliant, fails to honor the intent of transparency required by privacy laws."

Unprecedented Data Consolidation Under Trump Administration

The Trump administration’s aggressive data consolidation efforts represent a departure from established norms. By leveraging DOGE, the administration has sought to integrate previously siloed data systems—including those unrelated to immigration—under the guise of verifying citizenship and enforcing immigration policies. This initiative has been labeled "unprecedented" by experts, as it bypasses traditional checks on sensitive data sharing.

Misinformation and Data Misappropriation

Early misinformation campaigns, such as Elon Musk’s false claim about 150-year-olds receiving benefits, were exploited by DOGE to justify access to SSA systems. In April 2025, reporting by The New York Times revealed the administration’s practice of adding immigrants to SSA’s "dead" database, rendering their Social Security numbers functionally unusable for employment or government services—effectively forcing self-deportation.

Concurrent to the SSA’s SORN, DHS published a related SORN reclassifying SAVE as a voter verification system, raising concerns about potential bypasses of the Privacy Act’s safeguards.

SSA’s Role and Data Integrity Issues

Leland Dudek, former acting SSA commissioner (February–May 2025), described the agency’s initial collaboration with DOGE as a "bridge" that later became disillusioning. He highlighted the novel "special indicator code" introduced in the SSA’s SORN, which enables the deactivation of Social Security numbers (SSNs) without marking individuals as deceased—a mechanism he deemed capable of "cutting off financial access arbitrarily."

SSA data, however, was never designed for immigration verification. Nikhel Sus, Deputy Counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), noted: "SSA records often lack real-time updates for naturalized citizens, creating risks of misattribution and disenfranchisement." Data mismatches between SSA, USCIS, and other agencies could erroneously disenfranchise lawful residents or citizens, Sus added.

Legal and Technical Critiques

Legal scholars argue the SSA’s reliance on a 1999 Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion—originally applicable to the defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)—does not authorize unrestricted data sharing with DHS. John Davisson, EPIC’s litigation director, clarified: "The statute limits obstruction of lawful disclosures, but does not grant affirmative authority to bypass Privacy Act safeguards."

The administration, however, has claimed "carte blanche" to access cross-agency data, a contention experts decry as a "subversion of statutory intent."

Conclusion: Risks of Unchecked Data Aggregation

With SSA data now integral to DHS’s citizenship verification infrastructure, experts warn of systemic inaccuracies and legal overreach. Dudek emphasized the need for rigorous data cleaning, cross-validation, and bias disclosure—a process he asserts is "not being implemented."

As litigation mounts, the case underscores broader concerns about the erosion of data privacy and due process in the name of immigration enforcement.