Social Security Affirms Commitment to Preventing Benefits for Illegal Immigrants
The White House has recently revealed that 6,300 illegal immigrants with criminal histories or who presented significant risks were receiving federal benefits.
“This memorandum reinforces SSA’s commitment to protecting taxpayer funds and maintaining the integrity of the programs it oversees,” the agency commented.
The memorandum stipulates that SSA must broaden its fraud prosecution initiative to include at least 50 U.S. Attorney Offices.
SSA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is responsible for investigating suspected fraud related to Social Security. To pursue federal offenses, OIG collaborates with U.S. attorneys within the Department of Justice, along with local and state prosecuting bodies.
Beyond augmenting the fraud prosecutor initiative, the memo instructs the SSA to establish a Medicaid fraud-prosecution program in 15 U.S. Attorney Offices.
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“The Social Security Administration is committed to safeguarding the essential benefits that American workers have earned for themselves and their families,” stated Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek.
“We are devoted to diligently executing the President’s memorandum to guarantee that benefits are dispensed solely to those who rightfully qualify for them.”
These individuals were permitted entry into the United States despite being categorized as national security threats, having criminal records, or being noted in the FBI’s terrorist screening database, per the White House.
They were also paroled into the country, which shielded them from deportation. Immigration parole grants a person temporary residency and potentially work authorization in the United States.
As of April 8, the parole status for the 6,300 individuals has expired. Their Social Security numbers have been reassigned by the SSA to an Ineligible Master File, preventing them from ever receiving additional federal benefits.
‘Only for Eligible Taxpayers’
Trump’s April 15 memorandum directs the Social Security commissioner, the Social Security Administration inspector general, the attorney general, and the secretaries of labor, health and human services, and homeland security.
“These taxpayer-funded benefits should be available only to qualified taxpayers,” remarked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The enforcement against illegal immigration has led to a noteworthy decrease in encounters at the border.
In February, there were less than 330 apprehensions daily, marking the “lowest nationwide average apprehensions” recorded in the history of Customs and Border Protection at that time, the agency noted.