Students suing Education Department worry data DOGE has accessed could be used for immigration enforcement

California students suing the Department of Education allege that the agency has potentially put their families at risk by allowing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to obtain information that could reveal they have undocumented family members.

The allegations were made in a Monday court filing in which the plaintiff, the University of California Student Association (UCSA), sought a temporary restraining order that would require the Department of Education to bar DOGE from continuing to access their data and to retrieve and protect any information that has already been shared with DOGE.

The California Student Aid Commission estimates that as many as 12,000 students from “mixed-status” families — or families which include undocumented individuals — may be enrolled at the University of California, according to the lawsuit. The UCSA represents more than 230,000 students at nine University of California campuses.

The association argues there is a “substantial risk” that students’ data could be shared with administration members working on immigration enforcement, because DOGE employees are working with multiple federal agencies at once.

“The risk has already had a concrete chilling effect, discouraging students and their families from applying for aid—or attending college at all,” the plaintiffs say in the court filing. 

The motion for a temporary restraining order includes a declaration from a University of California system student who says she is submitting her testimony anonymously because she comes from a mixed status family and fears that “my and my family’s information could be used for improper purposes, including immigration enforcement.”

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) asks for students and their parents and spouses to submit their Social Security numbers (SSN), according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). Family members who do not have an SSN are directed to check a box attesting to that fact.

“While the information provided on the FAFSA has not been used for immigration purposes in the past, there is a possibility that future administrations could attempt to use this data for immigration enforcement,” the NASFAA website says. 

A nonprofit working with students who come from mixed-status families has been advising students with at least one undocumented parent or spouse not to apply for federal student aid as a result of DOGE’s access to the Department of Education’s systems, according to the court filing, citing news reports.