According to Wired, the Social Security Administration quietly updated a public notice last week to reveal it’s sharing “citizenship and immigration information” with the Department of Homeland Security. This data sharing was actually already happening since at least April 2025, when the Trump administration began pooling sensitive data across multiple agencies including SSA, IRS, and state voter databases. The notice, called a system of record notice (SORN), was issued months after the data sharing began, violating the Privacy Act of 1974 requirement that such disclosures happen before data sharing starts. The effort is largely based on USCIS’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database and involves the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team that first appeared at SSA between February and May 2025 under acting commissioner Leland Dudek.
They’re doing this backwards
Here’s the thing about SORN notices: they’re supposed to be warning signs, not after-the-fact receipts. The Privacy Act specifically requires agencies to tell the public how they’ll use data before they actually use it. But according to EFF’s Adam Schwartz, the government violated the law by starting to use these databases first and only telling people about it later. It’s like putting up security cameras everywhere and then, months later, posting a sign saying “Oh by the way, we’ve been watching you.” The whole point of these transparency requirements is to give the public and government watchdogs a chance to push back before things get implemented.
This isn’t the first data abuse
Remember that weird story about 150-year-olds supposedly collecting Social Security benefits? That was Elon Musk spreading misinformation based on misunderstood SSA data. But the administration used that false narrative as justification to dig deeper into SSA’s systems. Then there was the New York Times report about immigrants being added to the SSA’s death database to prevent them from working or accessing services. Now we’re seeing DHS transform SAVE into what experts warn is effectively a voter verification system through another related SORN that bypasses privacy protections. See the pattern? They’re creating this massive government surveillance apparatus piece by piece, often using false pretenses.
Where does this end?
So what’s really happening here? The Trump administration is executing their March 2025 executive order about “eliminating information silos” across government agencies. But in practice, it means creating this unprecedented data-sharing infrastructure that experts say has never existed before. They’re combining databases that were never meant to be connected – tax information, Social Security data, immigration records, voter registration. And according to ProPublica’s reporting on Leland Dudek’s experience, even initially supportive officials are becoming disillusioned with how DOGE operates.
The normalization of mass data sharing
Basically, we’re watching the creation of a permanent government surveillance capability that will likely outlast this administration. Once these data pipelines are established and normalized, do we really think future administrations will dismantle them? The technical infrastructure for mass data sharing across agencies is being built right now, with privacy laws being treated as suggestions rather than requirements. And the targets keep expanding – from immigrants to voters to anyone accessing government services. This isn’t just about immigration enforcement anymore – it’s about reshaping how the entire federal government collects, shares, and uses our personal data.
