Over 2 million migrants in the U.S. were given Social Security numbers (SSNs) in 2024, according to claims made by tech billionaire Elon Musk. He said these numbers were given to people who entered the country illegally and that they were later used to get government benefits they are not supposed to receive.
Musk made the claims during a town hall meeting in Wisconsin, pointing to data from a Social Security program called Enumeration Beyond Entry (EBE). The data showed a sharp rise in numbers: 590,000 migrants got SSNs in 2022, 964,000 in 2023, and nearly 2.1 million in 2024.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) says that only noncitizens who are legally allowed to work in the U.S. can apply for a Social Security number. Once approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, they are eligible for SSNs. However, not all are allowed to receive benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI)—only migrants granted asylum, refugee status, permanent residency, or other special classifications are eligible.
At the town hall, Musk and venture capitalist Antonio Gracias criticized the system. Gracias said they found cases where Social Security numbers were mailed to migrants without interviews or proof of ID, once they received work permits. He called it a sign of potential fraud in the SSA.
The EBE program was launched in 2017 under the Trump administration to speed up SSN distribution for eligible migrants. Homeland Security vets the legal status of migrants and then the SSA issues their Social Security numbers. Migrants are still required to show proof of legal status, according to the SSA’s own reports.
Musk went on to call the program a “massive” effort by the Biden administration to bring in illegal migrants and shift political power. He even claimed it could change the voting system in favor of one political party. However, a 2023 government audit found that the SSA issued Social Security numbers to noncitizens correctly 99.8% of the time.
So, are migrants using these SSNs to claim unfair benefits?
A report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) showed that in 2022, migrants paid $25.7 billion into Social Security and $6.4 billion into Medicare. In total, they paid nearly $97 billion in taxes, despite being ineligible for most federal benefits. This means that while many contribute heavily, they may never benefit from the system they support.
Experts say that the rise in SSNs issued to migrants is likely a result of the Biden administration’s more open approach to legal immigration. Former SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley noted that the growth was expected under current U.S. border and immigration policies.
Question:
Are undocumented migrants receiving Social Security benefits?
Answer:
Only migrants with certain legal classifications such as asylum or refugee status are eligible for Social Security benefits. Although some claims suggest fraud, audits show the SSA correctly processes nearly all migrant SSN cases.