1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

The Trump administration's move to grant the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), overseen by Elon Musk, unfettered access to sensitive unemployment data is deeply concerning. This data, containing personal information like addresses, Social Security numbers, and employment details, was originally collected to combat fraudulent claims during the pandemic. However, providing an unelected billionaire with such sensitive information poses significant risks of misuse for political or immigration enforcement purposes, violating due process and privacy rights. Experts have raised alarms, warning that this data could be weaponized against vulnerable communities or leveraged for policy goals beyond its intended use. Andrew Stettner from The Century Foundation cautioned that even if the stated goal is fraud prevention, the lack of safeguards around this data's handling could lead to benefits being wrongly denied or data leaks. Moreover, sharing this information with agencies like ICE would enable crackdowns on undocumented immigrants, aligning with the administration's hardline stance on immigration. The federal government's overreach in demanding state-level data from programs receiving federal funding is an alarming precedent that undermines state autonomy and individual privacy. As Michelle Evermore, an unemployment insurance expert, stated, this data reveals a "tremendous amount of information on individuals" that should not be accessible to anyone in the government without proper oversight and limitations. I urge you to take immediate action to halt this executive order and prevent the exposure of Americans' sensitive personal data to an unelected billionaire with a history of erratic behavior and potential conflicts of interest. Protecting the privacy rights of citizens and maintaining the integrity of state-run programs must be prioritized over the administration's overreach and political agenda.