The Trump administration aims to convince some immigrants without legal status to self-deport by adding them to a database of dead people, thus rendering their Social Security numbers inoperable, an administration official told Reuters.
Immigrants who were legally admitted to the US under the Biden administration but have since had their temporary status revoked would be added to the Social Security Administration's "death master list," which is normally used to identify dead people who should no longer receive Social Security benefits, said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss the plans.
The scheme was first reported by the New York Times, citing documents it reviewed and six people familiar with the plans. The goal is to pressure migrants to self-deport by effectively canceling their Social Security numbers and cutting them off from financial services, the Times reported.
"President Trump promised mass deportations and by removing the monetary incentive for illegal aliens to come and stay, we will encourage them to self-deport," Assistant Press Secretary Liz Huston said in a statement, without directly addressing the plan.