DOGE gained access to a secret system with data on millions of immigrants in the U.S. – WP

Representatives of the U.S. DOGE Service have received permission to access a highly sensitive Justice Department system that contains information including the addresses and case histories of millions of legal and undocumented immigrants, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. 

The system — the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Courts and Appeals System, or ECAS — is used to store records of immigrants who have interacted with the U.S. immigration system, detailing their name, addresses, previous immigration-court testimony and any history of engagement with law enforcement, among other things. The Justice Department’s website states that “ECAS supports the full life cycle of an immigration case” by maintaining “all records and case-related documents in electronic format.” 

And at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, DOGE staffers are looking to identify and kick out mixed-status households, vowing to ensure that undocumented immigrants do not benefit from public housing programs even if they live with citizens, The Post reported.

DOGE often has sought data that people reported for specific purposes, such as paying their taxes or seeking housing. The DOGE team’s tactics have alarmed legal experts and privacy watchdogs, as well as employees across the federal government, who note that the data DOGE is analyzing is typically accessible to only a small number of personnel who are highly trained on how to use the systems. (DOGE stands for “Department of Government Efficiency,” though it is not a Cabinet-level agency.)

Lynn Damiano Pearson, senior staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, said DOGE’s pursuit of closely held information jeopardizes privacy protections for citizens and noncitizens alike. She said that is especially true for ECAS’s confidential information about court proceedings, typically accessible only to the immigrants or their legal representatives. 

“It really hearkens to what we’re seeing with Social Security, with the IRS, with data that was shared with an expectation of privacy,” Pearson said. She added that ECAS being used for other purposes would have “very concerning impacts for immigrants, even ones who have specifically tried to comply with government policies and do everything right, so to speak.” 

The ECAS system holds records on millions of immigrants dating at least to the 1990s, said a government official familiar with the system, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation because they were not authorized to discuss the situation. The system is vast and comprehensive, the official said: It contains a range of information, including immigrants’ names, their lawyers’ and family members’ names, and their addresses. It also includes records of any interactions immigrants have had with law enforcement or their state motor vehicles agency.

For immigrants seeking asylum, ECAS details confidential interviews or testimony the individuals gave, which in some cases could put their lives at risk, the official said. For undocumented immigrants, ECAS records their alien registration number. Normally, the only people able to access the system would be lawyers and investigators, although a small number of staff within DHS — including Customs and Border Protection and ICE personnel — sometimes gain access, for example to deal with immigration-court appeals, the official said. 

“It’s every record of every interaction immigrants have had with the U.S. government in any way,” the official said. 

DOGE has had a presence within the Justice Department since at least last month, when officials announced the creation of JUST-DOGE, a team comprising employees from both agencies tasked with identifying internal “savings and cost cutting measures.”

Last week, a DOGE staffer contacted a major recipient of Justice Department grant funds, the Vera Institute of Justice, looking to install a team at the organization — an unusual move considering the institute is an independent nonprofit with no formal tie to the executive branch.