Child‑support Database Repurposed for Immigration

The Trump administration’s DHS requested access to the Federal Parent Locator Service — a database legally limited to child‑support cases — which contains Social Security numbers, employers, wages, addresses and data on children and domestic‑violence victims. HHS, which runs the system, is considering the request despite a federal statute limiting uses to child‑support and a few narrow purposes. — If agencies routinely repurpose tightly restricted administrative databases for immigration enforcement, it creates new legal and privacy precedents that could chill reporting, endanger victims, and merge welfare and enforcement systems.