Trump officials create searchable national citizenship database
10 months ago
- #privacy
- #government-surveillance
- #immigration
- The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has created a national citizenship database by merging data from immigration agencies and the Social Security Administration (SSA).
- The database is part of the expanded Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program and aims to streamline citizenship verification for voting purposes.
- State and local election officials can now access the centralized database to verify voter citizenship, replacing the previous reliance on fragmented databases or documents.
- The DHS claims the integration with SSA improves service efficiency, while critics argue it lacks transparency and raises privacy concerns.
- The database may soon include data from state Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs), further expanding its scope.
- The initiative is part of broader efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) to consolidate federal data, including from the IRS, sparking lawsuits over privacy violations.
- A Maryland judge temporarily blocked SSA from sharing data with Doge, citing concerns over unauthorized access to sensitive personal information.
- Privacy advocates warn the database could be weaponized to target immigrant communities under the pretext of preventing voter fraud, which is rare in the US.
- The rollout follows reports that Palantir, a software firm, was selected to develop a 'mega-database' for the Trump administration, raising legal and surveillance concerns.
- Democratic lawmakers have criticized the database as a potential violation of federal law and a tool for political targeting.