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CNN, ProPublica reported DHS sought access to restricted HHS child-support, employment database

CNN and ProPublica reported, independently and citing current and former federal officials, that the Department of Homeland Security requested access to HHS's restricted Federal Parent Locator Service, which holds child-support and employment data on millions of Americans, reportedly for immigration enforcement purposes. DHS and HHS both denied the request on the record when asked by CNN.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

CNN reported on March 11, 2026, citing three sources familiar with the discussions, that the Department of Homeland Security had requested access to a set of restricted Department of Health and Human Services databases known as the Federal Parent Locator Service. The system includes the National Directory of New Hires, which holds employment information on millions of Americans regardless of any child-support connection. ProPublica separately reported the same request that day, citing six current and former federal officials.

Current and former HHS officials described the request as unprecedented and said DHS is not an authorized user of the data under the federal law governing it, which restricts access to child-support collection and a handful of other narrow purposes; immigration enforcement is not among them. The request followed a broader pattern of Trump administration attempts to repurpose data held by other federal agencies to locate undocumented immigrants, including IRS-ICE taxpayer-data sharing that a federal judge later blocked as a violation of taxpayer-privacy law.

DHS and an HHS spokesperson both denied the request when asked by CNN: DHS said it "is NOT currently seeking" access, and HHS's Administration for Children and Families said it had "not received a request." The reporting rests on sourcing from current and former officials speaking anonymously, disputed on the record by both named agencies.

Why we recorded this

Federal privacy law restricts the Federal Parent Locator Service's employment and address data, gathered to collect child support, to that narrow purpose. Reporting found DHS sought access to the database for potential immigration enforcement, an unauthorized use HHS officials say would breach the statute and erode trust in a program millions rely on. This archive records executive-branch attempts to repurpose data collected for one government function toward surveillance and enforcement it was never authorized for.

Sources

  1. DHS pushes for access to federal database on child support, employment information — CNN investigative accessed August 3, 2026
  2. DHS Seeks Access to Sensitive Data in Federal Parent Locator Service — ProPublica investigative accessed August 3, 2026

See also