Wrongly Declared Dead: How Immigrants Are Forcing Social Security to Admit Their Mistake?

Immigrants who were mistakenly marked as dead by the Social Security Administration (SSA) are now showing up at field offices with proof that they are alive. These documents have led to the restoration of their benefits. In just the past week, nearly three dozen immigrants have had their names reinstated in SSA records, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

Among the immigrants who got their status corrected were a Haitian asylum seeker and a child. Some immigrants brought in driver’s licenses and work permits to prove their identity. Others showed up with letters from state authorities declaring them dead, which they used to fight the wrongful labelling.

This issue arose after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service attempted to label more than 6,100 immigrants, mostly from Latino communities, as dead. The move was seen as an effort to push these immigrants to leave the country. Social Security staff had raised concerns, warning that this action was illegal as it violated privacy laws and involved falsifying government records.

When asked about the situation, the White House denied the accusations. A White House spokesperson said the immigrants were never labelled as dead, and the names were transferred to a different database. According to the spokesperson, this was done after U.S. Customs and Border Protection cancelled their legal status, making them ineligible for benefits.

However, Social Security’s internal systems still refer to this database as the “Death Master File,” and current and former officials have stated that being included in this database can have serious consequences. It is used by other government agencies, employers, and even banks to check people’s statuses. If someone is wrongly listed as dead, it can cause significant trouble in their personal and professional life.

Documents show that Homeland Security was directly involved in pushing for this action. Secretary Kristi L. Noem signed agreements with Social Security to add the immigrants to the “Death Master File” to pressure them to leave the U.S. The White House has justified this by claiming the immigrants were no longer legally in the country, including those who had been part of temporary work programs that ended under the Trump administration.

The list of immigrants affected includes people of all ages, from young children to senior citizens. Some of the individuals wrongly labelled as dead included teenagers, with ages ranging from 13 to 17, as well as adults up to 83 years old. Officials at Social Security later checked the records of these individuals and found no evidence of criminal activity or involvement in law enforcement issues.

Social Security staff have reinstated benefits for 31 of the affected individuals, but thousands more may still be impacted. The process of correcting the records is not easy and could take months due to long wait times at field offices, especially with new policies that require appointments for service. Many of the affected individuals are left trying to prove their identity to banks, landlords, and employers while facing uncertainty.

This situation highlights a growing concern about how immigrants, especially asylum seekers, are being treated by the U.S. government. Some experts warn that these actions could have serious consequences, especially for those who are already struggling with legal status and fear of deportation.

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