EXCLUSIVE: DOGE is knitting together data from the Department of Homeland Security, Social Security Administration, and IRS that could create a surveillance tool of unprecedented scope.
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The scale at which DOGE is seeking to interconnect data, including sensitive biometric data, has never been done before, raising alarms with experts who fear it may lead to disastrous privacy violations for citizens, certified foreign workers, and undocumented immigrants.
“They are trying to amass a huge amount of data,” a senior DHS official tells WIRED. “It has nothing to do with finding fraud or wasteful spending … They are already cross-referencing immigration with SSA and IRS as well as voter data.”
Mistakes in the context of immigration can have devastating consequences: In March, authorities arrested and deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, due to, the Trump administration says, “an administrative error.” Still, they have refused to bring Abrego Garcia back, defying a Supreme Court ruling.
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Perhaps an important time to revisit our WIRED guide to protecting yourself from government surveillance: