By Ted Hesson and Daniel Trotta
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - 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 U.S. 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.
Social Security numbers function as tax identification numbers in the U.S. and are required to receive government benefits. They are also used for many private financial operations such as opening a bank account or obtaining a credit card.
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.
The Times, citing documents, reported that the names of more than 6,300 convicted criminals or "suspected terrorists" have been added to the government blacklist.
The use of the "death master list" is the latest example of President Donald Trump seeking to expand the use of sensitive personal data to further his goal of reducing the number of immigrants living in the U.S.
On Monday, the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Homeland Security finalized an agreement under which taxpayer data will be provided to federal immigration authorities to help them locate migrants.
That led to the resignation of the acting head of the IRS and other top officials at the tax-collecting agency.
Reuters on Tuesday reported that the Trump administration plans to fine migrants under deportation orders up to $998 a day if they fail to leave the United States and to seize their property if they do not pay.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Ross Colvin and Stephen Coates)
