Advocates Condemn Trump Administration Social Security Weaponization

EL PASO, TEXAS — The New York Times reported Thursday that the Trump administration plans to bar people who entered the United States lawfully from accessing the nation’s financial system. According to the newspaper, the move targets people who had been lawfully present until the administration arbitrarily revoked their status. The plan hinges on what the outlet describes as “repurposing” a Social Security Administration database used to record deaths and ensure that people who have died do not receive Social Security benefits. An expert quoted by the Times warned that, as a result of this misapplication of the database, “The potential for errors can be very consequential.”

Responding to the announcement, the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition (PIF) released the following statement from its director, Adriana Cadena:

“Social Security was created to make lives better, not as a weapon against hard-working people trying to build better lives for their families. The Trump administration is abusing the government’s vast power to end the financial lives of people who have legal status the United States. None of us – especially members of Congress – can tolerate this administration run amok.”