The Social Security Administration (SSA) rejected claims that it intended to classify 2.7 million individuals as deceased. These allegations arose from a whistleblower account by former SSA employee Jeremiah Schofield. The claims, highlighted by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren, expressed concerns about federal privacy rules and the influence of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which reportedly pressured SSA to declare these individuals as dead.
The senators stated, “The whistleblower’s disclosure suggests a deliberate falsification of government records to use SSA as a tool for immigration enforcement.”
An SSA representative informed Newsweek that the agency did not include 2.7 million names in the Death Master File (DMF). The representative emphasized the SSA’s commitment to maintaining accurate personal records.
Understanding the Death Master File
The SSA’s DMF is a federal database that tracks deceased persons, utilized by both governmental and private sectors to verify identities and prevent fraud. It holds details like Social Security numbers and information related to birth and death.
Once someone is marked as deceased in SSA’s Numident system, the designation transitions automatically to the DMF. Incorrectly marking a living person as dead can lead to immediate consequences such as frozen bank accounts and ceased social benefits.
Origins of the Allegations
The allegations began with a June 3 whistleblower disclosure to Congress by Schofield, a senior SSA official with over 25 years of experience. According to Schofield, DOGE, linked to the Trump administration and Elon Musk, sought to identify fraud within SSA but allegedly focused on manipulating databases.
Significant claims involved directives to mark thousands as deceased based on unverified Department of Homeland Security lists and a larger plan to falsely mark 2.7 million individuals as dead.
According to Schofield, a DHS-linked official stated the move was aimed at forcing individuals to self-deport or appear at SSA offices to be detained. Schofield recounted a meeting with DOGE staff, including Jon Koval, who pushed for the plan’s implementation.
Schofield expressed his determination to prevent the misuse of SSA data, maintaining it for its intended purpose.
Senatorial Reactions and SSA’s Response
Senators Warren and Blumenthal, vocal critics of DOGE, demanded answers from SSA leadership regarding alleged data manipulation and potential federal law violations.
The senators requested detailed information by June 18 on DOGE’s database access, stressing that falsely marking individuals as deceased would disrupt identity verification and benefit administration processes.
The broader implications emphasized risks to SSA data integrity. Faulty death records could erode confidence in a system vital to public and private sectors and could create legal liabilities for the government under the Privacy Act.
Schofield alleged similar misuse of SSA data by DOGE to restrict immigrant access to benefits such as SNAP and Medicare.