DOGE is granted untapped access to more than 3.5million people's sensitive data
Elon Musk 's controversial Department of Government Efficiency has been granted access to the sensitive data of millions of immigrants dating back to the 1990s.
It is the latest extraordinary development in the Trump administration's far-reaching efforts to track down and deport illegal immigrants using any tools at the government's disposal.
The Justice Department granted a DOGE request to the Executive Office for Immigration Review's Courts and Appeals System, known as ECAS, according to the Washington Post.
This database contains names, addresses, immigration testimony and court records of countless migrants - both documented and undocumented.
While there is no explicit number confirming how many people are impacted, the system is reportedly dealing with a backlog of 3.5million cases.
This means that at an absolute minimum, DOGE staffers will now have access to unprecedented information about every single person and case.
Beyond that, a source with knowledge of the ECAS accounts told the publication the system contains information about immigrants dating back to the 1990s.
'It's every record of every interaction immigrants have had with the U.S. government in any way,' the official said.
The government insider went on to say that the immigrants' family members and their addresses are also included on a file, meaning the number could actually be far greater.
Immigrants seeking asylum are often asked to participate in confidential interviews or provide testimony about their reasons for wanting to emigrate to America. That information is now at the disposal of Musk's henchmen.
For undocumented migrants, their alien registration number is also accessible.
The Justice Department granted around six DOGE personnel access - i ncluding 25-year-old Marko Elez.
Elez was forced to resign from his government job back in February after a series of shocking social media posts emerged in which he boasted that he was 'racist before it was cool,' urged followers to 'normalize Indian hate,' and mused about repealing the Civil Rights Act.
But Musk brought his young protégé back into the fold just weeks later, writing on X: 'To err is human, to forgive divine,' echoing sentiments from Vice President J.D. Vance, who said 'stupid social media activity' should not 'ruin a kid's life.'
Far from being sidelined, by late March Elez was embedded across multiple federal agencies, with access to troves of personal, medical, and employment data.
Now, he's one of the people tasked with sifting through and examining the sensitive data of millions of vulnerable minorities and migrants.
Former hedge fund employee Adam Hoffman, and two employees who work at a private-equity firm with links to Musk, Payton Rehling and Jon Koval, have also been given approval.
According to the Justice Department website, ECAS 'supports the full life cycle of an immigration case' and maintains 'all records and case-related documents in electronic format.'
It comes amid the Trump administration's heightened efforts to track down illegal migrants, utilizing government institutions once considered off limits for such a purpose.
Officials at the Internal Revenue Service agreed to hand over the tax data of undocumented migrants earlier this month, in a pivotal departure from previous protocol.
The IRS had for decades assured undocumented migrants, who contribute tens of billions of dollars in tax revenue every year, that they are safe to file their tax returns without fear of being deported.
Handing over such information could help the administration track down as many as seven million people suspected of being in the United States illegally.
And the Social Security Administration has listed more than 6,000 immigrants as dead in a bid to encourage them to self deport - effectively canceling the social security numbers they had legally obtained.
Without social security numbers, these people will no longer have access to their banks and credit cards, nor will they receive any government benefits.
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