A federal judge blocked Department of Government Efficiency personnel from accessing sensitive Social Security records. U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander ruled in favor of a group of unions and retirees in Maryland who sued to prevent DOGE from accessing Social Security data.

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.

The Department of Government Efficiency will be allowed only limited access to Social Security data after a federal court handed a ruling that will block the agency from tapping beneficiaries’ personal identifiable information at will.