This week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and other state governors received a request from the federal Department of Health and Human Services to provide personal information for all COVID-19 patients for its vaccine distribution. This request could lead the federal government and its partners to use patient information, like identity numbers, to track undocumented immigrants. Identity numbers could include a person’s driver’s license number, social security number, or someone’s passport number in order to get a vaccine, posing a problem for immigrants without legal status. Gov. Cuomo questioned the necessity for such information and reports that he will refuse to comply if this data could be used for deportation purposes. Gov. Cuomo, chair of the National Governors Association, has urged other state governors to disregard the request as well. As stated to reporters this past Monday, Gov. Cuomo plans on writing a letter to President Trump and senior Homeland Security officials with questions as to why the federal government is seeking this information.
Person. “Cuomo: Feds Want Personal Information as Part of Vaccine Plan.” ABC7 New York, WABC-TV, 3 Nov. 2020, abc7ny.com/cuomo-covid-vaccine-social-security-passport/7585438/.
Sommerfeldt, Chris, and Denis Slattery. “Trump Admin Might Use COVID Vaccine Program to Target Undocumented Immigrants: Cuomo.” Nydailynews.com, New York Daily News, 3 Nov. 2020, www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-coronavirus-trump-vaccine-immigrants-cuomo-20201102-v7i33zwgfndyldhysjbaqc7fny-story.html.
