In March, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) and the Leadership Conference's Center for Civil Rights and Technology released a fact sheet examining issues related to the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) access to sensitive information held by federal agencies. Since its release, DOGE has increased efforts to access such data across the federal government. Furthermore, DOGE and federal law enforcement authorities have aimed to repurpose administrative data for immigration-related uses.
As the federal government seeks to expand the use of sensitive data targeting immigrants, CDT and the Leadership Conference developed a follow-up explainer analyzing issues surrounding federal immigration authorities and DOGE’s use of administrative data in immigration activities. This explainer details several aspects:
- Types of administrative data held by federal agencies.
- Examples of how this data is being repurposed for immigration-related efforts.
- Legal protections of federal administrative data and law enforcement exceptions.
- Impacts on immigrants and society due to government data access and use.
- Unanswered questions about potential future changes in accessing, using, and sharing administrative data for immigration purposes.
The repurposing of federal administrative data may significantly impact U.S. citizens and non-citizen immigrants alike. Ensuring transparency into DOGE's actions and those of federal immigration authorities is crucial for protecting everyone's data privacy.