Trump admin lists about 6,000 immigrants as ‘dead’; social security benefits revoked in a push for self-deportation

This crackdown is primarily against immigrants who were allowed to enter and remain temporarily in the United States under programmes instituted by Trump’s predecessor.

What happens if they lose social security?

Once listed as dead, these immigrants won’t be able to avail services like banking, housing or find employment as their Social Security numbers will be revoked, playing into the much broader plan of US President Donald Trump to push immigrants to self-deport.

The Trump administration is moving the immigrants’ names and legally obtained Social Security numbers to a database that federal officials normally use to track the deceased, sources told AP. The ‘deceased’ immigrants will be stripped of their Social Security numbers, cutting them off from many financial schemes and services and encourage them into ‘self-deporting’ to their birth countries.

What’s the basis of listing them ‘deceased’?

Under this new move, over 6000 living immigrants are effectively being put on the ‘deceased’ list on the database. However, the basis of choosing these immigrants is not yet clear. The only common factor among all is that they attained temporary migration status from the United States under the Biden administration.

The Trump administration is further targeting over 900,000 immigrants who entered the US using the previous government’s CBP One app.

On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security revoked the legal status of the immigrants who used that app. They had generally been allowed to remain in the US for two years with work authorisation under presidential parole authority during the Biden era, but are now expected to self-deport.

However, this move may attract pushback from the court as the Privacy Act allows the Social Security Administration to disclose information to law enforcement in limited circumstances.

How does an immigrant self-deport?

Self-deportation, a campaign being vehemently pushed by the Trump administration, means that a person who is currently residing in the United States can voluntarily move back to their home country without facing any legal action.

This means that a person who currently has no legal ties to the United States can leave the country by themselves, without facing detention and or any other legal action.

The Trump administration is now offering immigrants a chance to self-deport through the official app of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The CBP Home app is now allowing users to submit an “intent to depart” request, offering them a chance to leave without facing harsh penalties.

The app, which was named CBP One under the Biden administration, was previously used by asylum seekers and temporary immigrants who wanted to enter the United States.

— With inputs from Reuter, AP