Claims that Social Security Death Records Were Falsified for Immigration Control
有指控稱社會安全局死亡記錄被偽造以進行移民管控
Introduction
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has denied reports that it tried to wrongly list millions of living people as dead to help immigration authorities.
社會安全局 (SSA) 否認了有關其試圖將數百萬名生存者錯誤列為死亡以協助移民當局的報導。
Main Body
The issue began with a report from Jeremiah Schofield, a former senior official at the SSA. Schofield claimed that members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a group linked to Elon Musk, pressured the SSA to change the Death Master File. He asserted that the goal was to mark about 2.7 million people as deceased. Consequently, these people would have been removed from the financial system, causing their bank accounts to be frozen and their public benefits to stop. This would force them to leave the country or go to government offices where they could be detained.
此事始於 SSA 前高級官員 Jeremiah Schofield 的一份報告。Schofield 聲稱與 Elon Musk 相關的政府效率部 (DOGE) 成員向 SSA 施壓，要求修改死亡主檔案。他主張其目標是將約 270 萬人標記為已故。因此，這些人將被移出金融系統，導致其銀行帳戶被凍結且公共福利停止。這將迫使他們離開國家或前往政府辦公室，而屆時他們可能會被拘留。
However, some staff and lawyers within the SSA resisted these plans, emphasizing that such actions would break the Privacy Act and internal rules. Despite these warnings, the report states that a smaller operation took place in April 2025. This resulted in over 6,000 people being wrongly listed as dead based on a list from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The agency had to fix these errors after the affected individuals visited local offices.
然而，SSA 內部的一些員工和律師抵制了這些計劃，強調此類行動將違反《隱私法》和內部規定。儘管有這些警告，報告指出 2025 年 4 月仍進行了一次較小規模的操作。這導致超過 6,000 人根據國土安全部 (DHS) 的名單被錯誤列為死亡。在受影響人士造訪當地辦公室後，該機構才修正了這些錯誤。
Opinions on the matter are divided. Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren described these actions as a misuse of federal records and asked for more information about DOGE's access to data. On the other hand, the SSA maintains that its internal systems are secure and denies that the 2.7 million-person list was ever used. Meanwhile, DHS representatives defended the sharing of information as a necessary step for public safety.
各方對此事的看法分歧。民主黨參議員 Richard Blumenthal 和 Elizabeth Warren 將這些行為描述為濫用聯邦記錄，並要求提供更多關於 DOGE 獲取數據權限的資訊。另一方面，SSA 主張其內部系統是安全的，並否認曾使用過該 270 萬人的名單。同時，DHS 代表則辯稱分享資訊是維護公共安全的必要步驟。
Conclusion
The SSA denies the larger claims of mass record falsification, and the plan involving 2.7 million people was reportedly not carried out before the whistleblower left.
SSA 否認大規模偽造記錄的指控，且據報導，涉及 270 萬人的計劃在舉報者離職前並未執行。
Vocabulary Learning
⚡ The 'Cause-and-Effect' Engine
At the A2 level, students usually use simple words like so or because. To reach B2, you need to show how one event triggers another using more sophisticated connectors.
Look at this chain from the text:
*"...mark about 2.7 million people as deceased. Consequently, these people would have been removed from the financial system..."
🛠️ The Power Move: "Consequently"
Instead of saying "So, this happened," B2 speakers use Consequently. It signals a logical result. It transforms a simple story into a professional analysis.
The Logic Flow:
Action (The Cause) Consequently Result (The Effect)
Example from the article:
- Cause: Marking living people as dead.
- Effect: Frozen bank accounts and stopped benefits.
🧩 Expanding Your Range
To avoid repeating the same word, try these 'B2 Bridge' alternatives found in or inspired by the text's logic:
-
Resulted in (Verb phrase)
- Text: "This resulted in over 6,000 people being wrongly listed..."
- Use this when: The cause leads directly to a specific number or a concrete outcome.
-
Due to (Prepositional phrase)
- Variation: "The errors occurred due to a list from the DHS."
- Use this when: You want to point directly at the source of the problem.
🚀 Quick Upgrade Challenge
Stop saying: "It rained, so I stayed home." Start saying: "It rained; consequently, I decided to stay home."