Multiple outlets report a whistleblower claim that President Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) team planned to have the Social Security Administration’s systems reflect about 2.7 million living people as “dead.” The allegation comes from Jeremiah Schofield, a former senior Social Security executive who worked at the agency for more than 20 years. In a 49-page whistleblower disclosure submitted to the Senate, Schofield says the purported effort was intended to make “immigrants so miserable that they self-deported,” and that the approach involved falsely marking individuals as deceased within Social Security records.
The reports describe the claim as part of a broader whistleblower narrative involving DOGE and alleged illegal activity. MarketWatch notes that it is the third whistleblower to raise concerns about the Trump administration’s DOGE efforts. The Independent and Mediaite both characterize Schofield’s account as shocking and say it centers on the alleged decision to misclassify living people in order to pressure or deter immigrants.
The reports reflect the allegations as presented by the whistleblower and do not provide independent verification of the plan or its execution.
