POLITICO: Musk’s influence extends to immigration

SOME STEEP ASKS: The Department of Agriculture is instructing states to give them the personal data of those who receive food assistance, including Social Security numbers, addresses, and, in at least one state, citizenship status, NPR’s JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK and STEPHEN FOWLER report. While the USDA can audit SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, participants’ personal data typically remains in the states. 

The demands are “absolutely alarming” and “reckless,” likely violating the Privacy Act, said JOHN DAVISSON, senior counsel and director of litigation at the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center. The data could be used to enable deportation and mass surveillance efforts, Davisson and other advocates warned. 

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