President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Tuesday ending Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters ahead of the signing that the directive will be “aimed at stopping illegal aliens and other ineligible people from obtaining Social Security Act benefits.”
Additionally, Leavitt said the memo calls for the expansion of the federal government’s Social Security fraud prosecutor program across the country.
Part of their task will be to “investigate earning reports for those ages 100 or older with mismatched Social Security records to combat identity theft.”
Further, Leavitt explained the memo will direct “the Social Security Administration to consider whether to reinstate the use of civil monetary penalties against individuals who engage in Social Security fraud, an effort that has been paused for several years.”
“These taxpayer-funded benefits should be only for eligible taxpayers,” she said.
Leavitt noted that former President Joe Biden allowed millions to enter the U.S. illegally on his watch, and charged that many of them are fraudulently receiving benefits.
Department of Government Efficiency team member Antonio Gracias confirmed on a recent episode of the All-In podcast that the office discovered large numbers of migrants had received Social Security numbers.
There were over 2 million in fiscal year 2024, and nearly a million in FY 2023.
Gracias argued that the Biden administration “abused” the asylum laws and granted migrants Social Security numbers so they could work in the U.S.
The Trump memo is targeted at those who are now receiving Social Security benefits.
Additionally, Gracias said that “1.3 million of them are on Medicaid right now, today. And by the way, it’s just ramping. It’s just starting.”
“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it.
