Social Security corrects death, citizenship information for millions of numbers

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Tuesday it corrected millions of Social Security number (SSN) database files, including death records and citizenship information, partially using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) service.

“The Social Security Number database is our country’s books and records. The database’s accuracy is essential to maintaining integrity of government services for citizens,” Frank Bisignano, the agency’s commissioner, said in a press release . “Accurate SSN records prevent fraud across federal programs and support the proper administration of benefits.”

Among these corrections, the agency said it updated about 25 million records with missing citizenship information with the help of SAVE, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) service used to determine eligibility for certain federal programs.

SAVE came into the national spotlight when President Trump directed the DHS to ensure election officials had appropriate resources to verify their voters’ citizenship, leading to a significant overhaul of the system. Trump previously mandated states turn over their voter rolls to the department in order to identify and strike non-U.S. citizens from their respective lists using the federal technology — an order a federal judge blocked in early October.

But the judge’s ruling did not strike the service itself, and the administration is continuing its antifraud push ahead of November’s midterms.

“SSA is currently in the process of correcting an additional 8.5 million records with inaccurate citizenship status,” the release states.

According to the SSA, it has corrected nearly 15 percent of all active SSNs since the beginning of the Trump administration.

As a part of its effort, the agency said it added 17 million dates of death to records that it claims previously lacked such information. The agency said it did so by using a combination of internal SSA systems and State Department data.

“The first time SSA has undertaken a record‑integrity initiative of this magnitude and marks a significant step toward strengthening the SSN system for the American public,” Bisignano said.