Migrants in the US without legal status will be classified as dead as part of plans to force them to “self-deport”.
The Trump Administration is reportedly cancelling the Social Security number of immigrants who were legally admitted to the US under Joe Biden’s presidency.
This would effectively erase their ability to receive benefits or work legally in the US.
The Social Security Administration has entered the names of over 6,300 mostly Latino immigrants into the “death master list”, according to various US outlets.
Migrants in the US without legal status will be classified as dead
Getty
Convicted criminals and those with suspected terror ties are understood to be on the list.
A White House official — who spoke on the condition of anonymity - told the Washington Post that “they have no right to be in the country”.
Without a social security number, individuals will be treated as dead by many federal agencies, employers, landlords and banks.
The official said that without these benefits, the administration hopes they choose to leave the country on their own accord.
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A White House spokesperson said Trump 'is delivering on his promise he made to the American people'
GettyA White House spokesperson said: “President Donald Trump promised mass deportations and by removing the monetary incentive for illegal aliens to come and stay, we will encourage them to self-deport.
“He is delivering on his promise he made to the American people.”
Opposers of the plan say it would “debank” lawfully-admitted immigrants.
Those at risk of being added to the list include those who have Social Security numbers but have lost their legal status in the US, like individuals who entered under one of the Biden administration’s temporary work programs that have since ended.
Migrants crossing the US borderReutersUp next for inclusion in the database are 92,000 undocumented immigrants with some kind of criminal conviction, the White House official said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem requested that the Social Security agency put pressure on undocumented immigrants to leave the country.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has revoked the legal status of more than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
They have also been stripping protections away from potentially around one million people who entered legally using a Border Patrol app while they awaited asylum claims.
