News, Opinions & Events
Immigrants prove they are alive, forcing Social Security to undo death label – msn/WaPost
“Getting added to that database — which contains more than 85 million records of deaths dating to 1936 — has potentially dire consequences. Social Security shares its death data with other government agencies, employers, banks and landlords, all of whom rely on it to check the status of employees, residents, clients and others. Anyone falsely placed in the file will struggle to earn money or find a place to live. Entering the immigrants into the database will still have the same effect — causing the U.S. government, companies and banks to treat them as dead — no matter what the White House calls the file entry, current and former Social Security officials said.
“The request to label immigrants dead came from the very top of Homeland Security, The Post previously reported. Secretary Kristi L. Noem signed two memorandums of agreement this month with acting Social Security commissioner Leland Dudek authorizing and facilitating the placement of the immigrants in the Death Master File.
“The White House has previously said that the immigrants being targeted are people who have bona fide Social Security numbers but lost their legal status in the U.S., including those who entered under one of President Joe Biden’s temporary work programs that have been shuttered by the Trump administration. A White House official also said, without providing evidence, that the immigrants moved into the death database all have ties to terrorist activity or criminal records.
“Records obtained by The Post show that the immigrants listed as dead include a 13-year-old, a 14-year-old, two 16-year-olds and four 17-year-olds, as well as people in their 70s and one 83-year-old. Agency staff later checked some of the youngest individuals against data the agency uses to research criminal history and could find no evidence of crimes or law enforcement interactions, The Post reported. The records show that 6,161 people were added to the file in early April at the request of DHS, along with an additional 102 a few days later. As of Friday, Social Security staff had restored 31 of these people to the rolls, declaring them living again, the records show.
“The tactic of using Social Security’s death database as a deportation tool comes as the Trump administration is escalating its deportation efforts across the government. The Department of Homeland Security reached an agreement this month with the Internal Revenue Service to receive the tax data it maintains for undocumented immigrants, and The Post reported this week that the Trump administration is seeking to use sensitive Medicare claims data to find immigrants’ home addresses.”
ICE and DOGE seek sensitive data in crackdown on illegal immigration, waste: report – Fox
House Democrats: DOGE is building a ‘master database’ of Americans’ sensitive information – Verge
Democratic party leaders who take the time to watch this Florida constituency meeting can see a huge opportunity to make headway among working class people in red states on immigration and Social Security:
‘It’s Not Breaking The Law’: Brian Mast Defends Trump’s Deportations, Town Hall Explodes In Anger – msn/Slingshot News
“During a recent Florida town hall, Rep. Brian Mast speaks out in defense of the Trump administration’s deportations, claiming they are not breaking the law despite court orders. In response to his answer, attendees lash out in frustration and anger.”
More than half of U.S. immigrants are eligible to vote – Cooper Center
“More than one-half (24.5 million) of the 46 million immigrants living in the United States are naturalized citizens, according to the United States Census Bureau. This group of naturalized citizens is larger than the entire population of Florida. Like their U.S.-born counterparts, naturalized citizens:
- may vote in federal elections,
- may apply for jobs requiring U.S. citizenship and security clearance,
- may apply for a U.S. passport,
- have access to a wide range of social services and benefits, have more legal protections than noncitizens and cannot be deported.”
Mahmoud Khalil: What does my detention by ICE say about America? – WaPost
“A democracy for some is no democracy at all.”
“It’s 3 a.m. as I lie sleepless on a bunk bed in Jena, Louisiana, far from my wife, Noor, who will give birth to our baby in two weeks. The sound of rain hitting the metal roof masks the snoring of 70 men tossing and turning on hard mats in this detention facility run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Which ones are dreaming about reuniting with their families? Which ones are having nightmares about becoming the Trump administration’s next “administrative error”?
“Last Friday, I sat in a courtroom as an immigration judge determined that the government could deport me despite my status as a legal permanent resident and despite that the government’s claims against me were baseless — much of its “evidence” lifted directly from sensationalized tabloids. The decision won’t result in immediate deportation — aspects of my case are pending in other courts.
“Earlier that day, I sifted through letters from supporters. Two postage stamps displayed the American flag, one stating “liberty forever,” the other proclaiming “justice forever.” The irony is stunning, especially regarding what I’ve learned about how the administration exploits immigration law to enforce its repressive agenda. I think about the breakneck speed with which my case was heard and decided, running roughshod over due process. On the flip side, I think about those I am locked up with, many of whom have been languishing for months or years waiting for their “due process.”
“During Friday’s hearing, the government asserted on behalf of Secretary of State Marco Rubio that my beliefs, statements and associations compromise its “compelling” foreign policy interests. Like the thousands of students that I advocated with at Columbia — including Muslim, Jewish and Christian friends — I believe in the innate equality of all human beings. I believe in human dignity. I believe in the right of my people to look at the blue sky and not fear an impending missile.
“Why should protesting Israel’s indiscriminate killing of thousands of innocent Palestinians result in the erosion of my constitutional rights?
“My lawyers have mentioned that a case called Endo might bear on my own. Days later, in my research at a law library, I uncovered the human story behind the legal abstraction. Mitsuye Endo, a Japanese American woman incarcerated during World War II, challenged her captors and brought her case to the Supreme Court. Her victory helped secure the release of thousands of others.
“The incarceration of 70,000 American citizens of Japanese descent is a reminder that rhetoric of justice and freedom obscures the reality that, all too often, America has been a democracy of convenience. Rights are granted to those who align with power. For the poor, for people of color, for those who resist injustice, rights are but words written on water. The right to free speech when it comes to Palestine has always been exceptionally weak. Even so, the crackdown on universities and students reveals just how afraid the White House is of the idea of Palestine’s freedom entering the mainstream. Why else would Trump officials not only attempt to deport me but also intentionally mislead the public about who I am and what I stand for?
“I pick up my copy of Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning.” I feel ashamed to compare my conditions in ICE detention to Nazi concentration camps, yet, some aspects of Frankl’s experience resonate: not knowing what fate awaits me; seeing resignation and defeat in my fellow detainees. Frankl wrote from the lens of a psychologist. I wonder whether Hussam Abu Safiya, a renowned hospital director who was abducted in Gaza by Israeli occupying forces on Dec. 27 and, according to his lawyer from the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, has endured beatings, electric shocks and solitary confinement, will write about his ordeal from a medical perspective.
“It’s almost 4 a.m. Thunder crashes. A few rows away, one man hugs a bottle of hot water in a sock for warmth. His prayer mat serves as a blanket, and his head rests on his shoes. A detainee who was praying all night finally lies down. He was caught crossing the border with his pregnant wife and has never seen his baby, now 9 months old. I try to convince myself that this will not be my fate, though Friday’s ruling makes that possibility more real than I want to admit.
“I write this letter as the sun rises, hoping that the suspension of my rights will raise alarm bells that yours are already in jeopardy. I hope it will inspire your outrage that the most basic human instinct, to protest shameless massacre, is being repressed by obscure laws, racist propaganda and a state terrified of an awakened public. I hope this writing will startle you into understanding that a democracy for some — a democracy of convenience — is no democracy at all. I hope it will shake you into acting before it is too late.”
GOP Senator on Trump’s Second Term: ‘We Are All Afraid’ and ‘Retaliation Is Real’ – Rolling Stone
“An audience member asked Murkowski what she would say to people who are feeling afraid or to the lawmakers who represent them. ‘We are all afraid,’ the Republican told the audience of 500 nonprofit leaders. She paused, then added: ‘It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right. But that’s what you’ve asked me to do. And so I’m going to use my voice to the best of my ability…I’ve got to figure out how I can do my best to help the many who are so anxious and are so afraid,’ Murkowski said.
“Murkowski voted to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial, when he was charged with inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. She is the only Republican who voted to defund Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). She was also one of only three Republican senators to vote against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation, and one of two to vote against FBI Director Kash Patel.”
It will be hard for Trump to shut her up. Her term of office ends in 2029. His, 2028.

It’s Time to Protect America From America’s President – Nicholas Kristof/NYT
“A remarkable Times investigation found that of the 238 migrants dispatched to the Salvadoran prison, most did not have criminal records and few were found to have ties to gangs. Officials appear to have selected their targets in part based on tattoos and a misunderstanding of their significance.
“This is the same administration that marked for deletion a photo of the World War II bomber Enola Gay, seemingly because it thought it had something to do with gay people. But this ineptitude is intertwined with brutality. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said that those sent to the Salvadoran prison ‘should stay there for the rest of their lives.’ Trump’s border ‘czar,’ Tom Homan, suggested that governors of sanctuary states should be prosecuted and perhaps imprisoned. ‘It’s coming,’ he said.”
‘It’s all made up!’: Hayes breaks down ‘sheer lawlessness’ of Trump deportation case – MSNBC
El Salvador’s Bukele Plans to Double Giant Prison Holding U.S. Deportees – WSJ
Immigrants and the Social Security death master file – Jack Smalligan & Tara Watson/Brookings
“The Trump administration is beginning to use the Social Security Administration (SSA) to enforce immigration rules in ways that are dangerous for both the Social Security program and workers contributing to the program. Specifically, press reports indicate that the Trump administration is deliberately adding immigrants who have legally obtained a Social Security number (SSN) to the ‘death master file,’ the official database used to ensure that deceased individuals are no longer sent Social Security benefits. Adding immigrants to the Social Security death master file undermines both the integrity and the solvency of the Social Security system…
“Recent reports indicate that the administration took the unprecedented step of deliberately adding about 6,000 people to the death master file, even though they are known to be alive.”
Easter weekend – when Christians celebrate the execution of Jesus and his resurrection to eternal life – is a fitting time for the federal government to reflect on how American citizens are impacted when one federal agency declares them to be dead while another claims they are still alive. One example: Do people whom the Trump Administration places on Social Security’s death master file still have to pay taxes to the IRS? Would such souls be eligible for Medicare hospice benefits? For longer than three days? What about Medicaid? Food stamps? DOGE might find that dead people don’t need health care and food. Can people the government slanders or injures by being declared dead sue for damages? Will prisons in El Salvador under contract with the US government make sure dead people from the US can send mail to the IRS and other agencies to fulfill civic obligations?
Featured
Letter to US citizens:
Student expulsions are an attack on all Americans’ freedom of speech
“This is how fascism happens. First, they come for the powerless. In time, they
will come for you.”

“The federal government has had authority since 1986 to criminally prosecute individuals and companies employing workers not legally in the United State, but it has rarely used that authority regardless of the administration in office. A one-year snapshot taken during Trump’s first term found that no company was criminally prosecuted for having workers not authorized to be in the country, a Syracuse University study shows…
“Changing the equation to incentivize employers to help enforce, rather than skirt, the nation’s immigration laws does not mean subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishment. No need to suspend billionaires and entrepreneurs in cages from a tower or use branding irons. It does mean applying and stiffening laws against hiring illegals and tax avoidance. Financial penalties, public shaming, and loss of contracts could be a start. If that isn’t sufficient, start putting law-breaking employers in jail. They are lining their pockets by stealing jobs from American workers, both native born and those immigrating legally.”

Multiple conflicts of interest:
“By directing a high-powered federal agency working to alter the size and nature of the federal workforce, Elon Musk may be jeopardizing the ability of companies he owns and directs, including SpaceX and Tesla, to contract with the federal government.”
Thanks to the Virginian-Pilot for running our op-ed:

Many questions, few answers about exempting tips from taxes – Karl Polzer/Virginian-Pilot
“Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposal to exempt tipped income from state taxes — like President-elect Donald Trump’s on a national level — could help some low-wage workers. However, it also poses risks for others and raises complex issues facing scrutiny as the state legislature begins its work…”
To provide access to all readers (the newspaper’s op-eds are gated), below is the original submission including links to sources:
Statement to 11/20/24 US House Appropriations Committee hearing on Social Security:
“As keeper of the federal government’s purse strings, the House Appropriations Committee plays a part in maintaining Social Security’s commitment to American workers, their families, and taxpayers. First, Committee members can weigh in as Congress and the Treasury find hundreds of billions of dollars annually in cash outside the appropriations process to draw down Social Security reserves. The Committee can also help ‘leave room’ in future budgets for revenue increases that might be necessary to keep Social Security solvent as it coordinates with House Ways & Means, Budget, and other Committees on tax and spending issues.”

The next President and Congress will face daunting fiscal issues. In the shadow of historic levels of national debt, lawmakers will be bargaining over trillions of dollars of taxes and spending as they deal with expiration of the Trump tax cuts. On top of that loom major Social Security financing gaps. Paying promised benefits will require the government to raise more than $2 trillion in cash over the next eight years and more than $24 trillion to achieve long-run solvency.
This paper presents policy options – some favored by conservatives, others by progressives – as a framework for negotiating a solution. Taken together, the changes could generate more than twice as much in savings and revenue than needed to balance Social Security’s books.
The nation’s biggest banks in effect have become today’s payday lenders.
Which U.S. Households Have Credit Card Debt? – St. Louis Fed
46% of American households held credit card debt in 2022.

– Expand the child tax credit to help more working-class parents and grandparents raising kids.
– Provide Social Security credit for unpaid work raising young children.
– Update/improve SSI so more people with disabilities can work, save.
– If taxes must go up, hold the working poor harmless.
Click here for longer version including references and related articles.
CCSE work contributes to Congressional hearing on financing Social Security
Center on Capital & Social Equity (CCSE) analysis and advocacy were evidenced during the June 4 House Ways & Means subcommittee on Social Security hearing of the program’s trust fund. Over the past years, CCSE has worked to explore issues affecting low-wage workers and lay groundwork to defend their Social Security benefits when Congress eventually refinances the nation’s most important social program.

It’s Social Security ‘groundhog day’ as trustees repeat annual forecast of declining finances
“…The trustees’ report, however, neglects to mention how Social Security already is impacting the overall federal budget. As pointed out to the Senate Budget Committee, the mechanics of spending down Social Security’s reserves require the Treasury to draw funds from general revenue and issue new debt to the public. As a result, Social Security is gradually and organically moving to paying for current benefits through debt substituting for now-insufficient payroll taxes that it traditionally relies on.”

Missing the obvious: life expectancy in the U.S. is closely related to income – Karl Polzer
“The underlying theory is simple: More income and wealth allow people and governments to support more years of life. Fewer resources put them at a disadvantage. Some politicians who see the connection may be leery of talking about it. Doing so would lead to awkward questions about improving working and living conditions for millions of Americans and dealing with growing economic inequality.
“The strong relationship between income and longevity is clear when comparing states… (E)ight of the nine states with the lowest median household income also are among the bottom nine in longevity. Similar clustering occurs comparing the highest ranked states across the two categories. Seven of the nine states with the highest median household income also are among the top nine in life expectancy.
“Realizing they are rowing in the same economic boat could prompt states to join forces on policy changes, particularly Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, New Mexico, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and others ranking at or near the bottom…
“Presidential candidate and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley strongly proposes raising the program’s retirement age on the premise that increased life spans are undermining Social Security’s long-term solvency. If long-held assumptions about longevity were challenged, and potential losses to low-income workers and low-income states caused by raising the eligibility age came to light, would she change her position? Republican candidate Donald Trump, by the way, opposes cuts in Social Security as do most Democrats…”
Thanks to the Washington Examiner for running this op-ed:

Senate minimum wage bills make bipartisan compromise possible – Washington Examiner
For longer version with references, see:
Previous work on this issue:
One way to make living easier in Virginia – letter to WaPost
Yes, raise the minimum wage, but don’t stop there – op-ed
“More Americans are rightly asking if Israel could neutralize Hamas without massive destruction and loss of civilian life. Indiscriminate air attacks by the Netanyahu regime already have killed and injured tens of thousands of Gazans with no end to the violence in sight. To put this in perspective, imagine how Washington, D.C., would look if a foreign government with the power to fence in the District of Columbia dropped a comparable number of bombs here while shutting off access to water and food and destroying most of the capital area’s housing and medical system. UN officials say conditions in Gaza are catastrophic.”
Thanks to the Washington Post for publishing our letter to the editor:

One way to make living easier in Virginia – Karl Polzer/letter to WaPost
“Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) told reporters he is ‘concerned about the cost of living in Virginia and we’re continuing to evaluate how best to address that,’ as reported in the Nov. 26 Metro article ‘Budget battle looms in Virginia. Facing a tighter fiscal environment and Democratic control of the legislature, Mr. Youngkin and fellow Republicans could help working families without denting the budget by making an expected Democratic push for a higher minimum wage a bipartisan affair.
“The GOP has been trying to attract more minority and working-class voters. However, party leaders have stopped short of addressing core economic issues, such as supporting higher wages and better benefits, and mainly stress cultural issues…”
Background Information on these issues provided to Virginia legislators

McCarthy & Co. offer themselves up on the cross to help motivate lazy poor people back to work
Work requirements are a policy failure: Why are they still an option? – The Hill
Thanks to the Washington Post for running our letter:
“Letting Americans Down”
“How can House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), President Biden and Senate leaders claim to represent the working class and poor when Medicaid work requirements are a focal point in the debt ceiling standoff and the Trump-era tax cuts are not? According to the Congressional Budget Office, the work requirements in the Limit, Save, Grow Act would have a tiny impact (about $5.6 billion in fiscal 2025) on the nation’s $31.4 trillion national debt, but they would increase the number of uninsured and state costs and have no effect on hours worked by Medicaid recipients.
“In contrast, ending the Trump-era tax cuts, which disproportionately benefit the wealthy, could put a major dent in the national debt….”
Because most of this site’s readers won’t be able to get through the newspaper’s pay gate, here’s the draft of the letter sent to the Post:
Debt ceiling negotiators focus on a ‘speck’ in benefits for the poor, ignore the ‘logs’ in their own eyes.
“Legislative Choices for Paying Promised Social Security Benefits”
Statement of Karl Polzer, Center on Capital & Social Equity,
U.S. Senate Budget Committee hearing: “Protecting Social
Security for All: Making the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share”

Has DT crossed the line into delirium tremens?
“It came out of his mouth during a campaign speech last month.”