Immigrants in the US without legal status will be classified as dead as part of plans to stop them accessing benefits {snip}
The White House wants to make Social Security numbers inoperable for migrants whom it wants to pressure to “self-deport” as Donald Trump continues his clampdown on what he claims is an epidemic of illegal immigration.
People who were legally admitted to the US under Joe Biden’s administration but have since had their temporary status revoked would be added to the Social Security Administration’s “death master list”, according to Reuters.
Without a Social Security number it is very difficult to get access to a current account or credit card.
Social Security numbers function as tax identification numbers in the US and are required to receive government benefits.
Critics of the plan say it would “debank” lawfully-admitted immigrants.
The scheme was first reported by The New York Times, who reported that the goal of the Trump administration is to coerce migrants to self-deport by effectively cancelling their Social Security numbers and cutting them off from financial services.
“President Trump promised mass deportations and by removing the monetary incentive for illegal aliens to come and stay, we will encourage them to self-deport,” Assistant Press Secretary Liz Huston said in a statement, without directly addressing the plan.
