ICE and DOGE Target Medicare Data in Fresh Push Against Illegal Immigration and Fraud
Sarah Johnson
April 18, 2025
Brief
ICE and the U.S. DOGE Service plan to access Medicare databases to crack down on illegal immigration and government fraud, aligning with Trump’s efforts to block benefits abuse.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. DOGE Service are reportedly gearing up to tap into a vast Medicare database, hoping to beef up their crackdown on illegal immigration and government waste. According to The Washington Post, which cited both internal documents and an anonymous source, these agencies are eyeing access to the Integrated Data Repository (IDR)—a massive archive managed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) full of personal beneficiary information, addresses, and Medicare claims.
The real kicker is how ICE wants CMS to match Social Security numbers of people suspected to be in the country illegally with Medicare claims—essentially, a high-tech search for where folks might be living. The plan is all about using every tool in the box to locate and act on illegal immigrants who might be using or abusing federal benefits.
This effort comes right on the heels of President Donald Trump’s recent memorandum, which takes direct aim at blocking illegal immigrants from accessing benefits through the Social Security Act, including Medicare. The memo rolls out a fresh fraud prosecution program and expands enforcement under the Social Security Administration. It's a pretty clear sign that the administration is doubling down on both fraud and illegal immigration—two birds, one bureaucratic stone.
Meanwhile, DOGE (led by none other than Elon Musk—yes, that Elon Musk) is also in the spotlight for its stance on "waste and fraud" in entitlement programs. Musk recently told Fox Business that entitlements make up most federal spending, estimating that the waste and fraud could top half a trillion dollars a year. That's not exactly pocket change, even for the world's richest guy.
The agencies’ joint initiative seems perfectly timed with the broader Trump administration push to clean up federal spending and immigration loopholes. As for ICE, they haven’t given any official comment on the reported plans yet. But with this kind of high-stakes data hunt, you can bet there's more to come.
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Editor's Comments
So, ICE and DOGE want to turn Medicare's database into their own digital detective agency? If only catching fraud and illegal activity was as easy as hitting "CTRL+F" for suspicious addresses. It's wild to see Silicon Valley types and immigration enforcers tag-teaming on Medicare—talk about an unlikely buddy cop show.
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