Washington [US], June 7:AFP news agency reported on June 7 that the US Supreme Court has just granted President Donald Trump 's Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE) the right to access social security data of millions of Americans.
The decision comes after the US government appealed to a high court to overturn a judge's order in April that restricted 'DOGEs access to Social Security Administration (SSA) records.
"The SSA may allow members of the DOGE group access to the records of the agency in question so that those members can do their work," according to the US Supreme Court.
Three liberal justices on the Supreme Court dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson saying the move posed "serious privacy risks to millions of Americans."
"Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, bank account numbers, medical records, all of that information and more falls into this category," said Jackson.
In an April ruling, Judge Ellen Hollander banned DOGE employees from accessing data containing personally identifiable information about Americans, such as their social security numbers, medical histories, or banking records.
The Social Security number is an important identifier for everyone in the United States, used to report income, determine eligibility for welfare and retirement benefits, and for other purposes.
In another development, US agents have just arrested two immigrants at a courthouse in New York, wrestling them to the ground in an effort to step up the fight against undocumented immigrants.
The two immigrants had just attended an interview to determine whether they could stay in the United States when they were arrested by plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and taken away. It is unclear why they were arrested or what their next steps will be.
According to AFP, President Trump was elected to a second term largely on the promise of a tough crackdown on immigration and the presence of undocumented immigrants, and Americans largely support this idea.
But polls show that many Americans find measures like courthouse raids to be harsh. In recent weeks, ICE agents have stepped up such operations in U.S. immigration courts.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
