Angus King Moves to Block ICE from Accessing DACA Data
The Maine independent joins Senate Democrats to stop Trump’s deportation machine from weaponizing the personal records of Dreamers.
WASHINGTON — Angus King is backing legislation to stop the Trump Administration from using the private information of DREAMers to hunt them down.
The Maine independent has joined a group of Senate Democrats to cosponsor the Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act, which would block Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other law enforcement agencies from accessing personal data—like taxpayer filings and health records—provided by undocumented immigrants as part of their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications. The move comes amid revelations that the Trump Administration has begun sharing Medicaid, IRS, and USCIS data with ICE and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to further its mass deportation campaign.
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“Dreamers are woven into the fabric of our communities,” King said. “They should not be living in fear that the information they gave in good faith will be used to destroy their lives.”
They have good reason to be afraid. In June, the Trump Administration finalized an agreement with the IRS to hand over tax data to ICE. The administration also gave ICE access to DHS’s immigration intelligence systems, including DACA application data stored by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The same month, the White House announced that some undocumented immigrants would be required to register with DHS.
King’s bill would stop that. It would:
Ban DHS from sharing DACA application data with ICE, CBP, or any other law enforcement agency unless it’s necessary to carry out the DACA program;
Prohibit referrals of DACA recipients to law enforcement agencies, including DOJ;
Allow limited exceptions—for example, if the information is needed to stop fraud, investigate a non-immigration-related felony, or address national security threats tied to a specific individual.
The legislation is a direct response to a series of administrative actions that have weaponized government databases. The Department of Government Efficiency, a little-known agency turbocharged under Trump, now holds access to USCIS’s Business Intelligence Services and the EOIR’s immigration court records—systems that together contain personal and legal data on millions of immigrants.
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Since its creation in 2012, the DACA program has shielded over 825,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. Dreamers have contributed an estimated $140 billion in spending power and paid more than $40 billion in taxes. But a series of court rulings undercutting the program—along with Trump’s data-fueled enforcement push—has left their futures in limbo.
King has previously pushed for permanent protections for Dreamers. He recently urged the Trump Administration to comply with a Fifth Circuit ruling allowing USCIS to resume processing initial DACA applications in most states. He’s also supported the American Dream and Promise Act and cosponsored a bipartisan legislative fix with Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD).
King’s bill is cosponsored by a long list of Senate Democrats and independents, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Patty Murray. Whether it moves forward remains to be seen. But for now, it’s one of the few legislative efforts aimed at drawing a red line between immigrant data and the deportation machine.
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