The Elon Musk operatives were abruptly shifted to the department’s immigration enforcement unit as part of an expanding effort to use personal data in deportation cases, one official said.

“For some 90 years, SSA has been guided by the foundational principle of an expectation of privacy with respect to its records. This case exposes a wide fissure in the foundation,” she wrote.

A federal judge blocked Department of Government Efficiency personnel from accessing sensitive Social Security records.