Washington, D.C., June 19, 2025—A reported 3.5 million new Social Security numbers (SSNs) issued to non-citizens from 2021 to 2024 has sparked controversy, with critics alleging the Biden administration’s policies enabled unchecked immigration and potential system abuse. Data from the Social Security Administration’s Enumeration Beyond Entry (EBE) program shows a rise from 270,425 SSNs in 2021 to 2,095,247 in 2024, fueling claims of lax oversight. While some argue the numbers reflect legal processes, others question their impact on benefits and national security, as President Donald Trump’s deportation push intensifies.
The EBE program, expanded under Biden, allows legal immigrants with work permits, green cards, or citizenship to receive SSNs automatically after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services verifies their status. The increase—590,193 in 2022, 964,163 in 2023, and over 2 million in 2024—coincides with Biden’s expansion of humanitarian parole and Temporary Protected Status, granting work authorization to millions, per a 2025 PolitiFact report. Critics argue this enabled undocumented immigrants to gain SSNs through asylum or parole loopholes, though only legally present non-citizens qualify. A Rasmussen Reports poll shows 59% of Americans worry about non-citizen access to public resources.
Trump’s administration, following his 2024 landslide (312 electoral votes, 50.2% popular vote), has seized on the data to justify deportations, which have detained 150,000 and prompted 850,000 self-deportations since March, per DHS data. Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan claimed at a June 15 briefing that non-citizens strain programs like Social Security, though undocumented immigrants contributed $25.7 billion in 2022 without receiving benefits, per SSA estimates. Supporters argue citizens should have priority, with 62% of Republicans in a Pew Research poll opposing non-citizen benefits.
Critics of the narrative clarify that SSNs do not guarantee benefits. Only lawfully present non-citizens with sufficient work credits qualify for Social Security payments, a rule in place since 1996, per the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Claims of widespread fraud, including non-citizens voting, lack evidence, with rare cases often tied to errors like accidental voter registration at DMVs, per a 2025 Scripps News report. The 3.5 million SSNs reflect legal workers, including H-1B visa holders and naturalized citizens, who paid taxes, bolstering the system’s $1.4 trillion payouts to 70 million Americans in 2024, per SSA data.
Economic impacts cut both ways. Non-citizen workers support industries like agriculture, where 50% are undocumented, per USDA data, but deportations have caused $3 billion in crop losses. A 2025 American Immigration Council study warns of a $1.1-$1.7 trillion GDP hit if deportations reach 1 million annually. Protests, like the 4-6 million-strong “No Kings Day” marches on June 14, highlight fears of family separations, with 5.1 million U.S. citizen children at risk, per the Center for American Progress. Violence, injuring ten Los Angeles deputies, underscores tensions, per LAPD data.
The debate over non-citizen SSNs reflects broader immigration anxieties. Trump’s base sees the surge as evidence of Biden’s “open borders,” driving policies like California’s lawsuit against ICE and 1,800 planned protests. Yet, the SSA’s 99% payment accuracy rate and rigorous protocols, per a 2025 CBPP report, suggest the system functions as intended for legal workers. As Trump considers the Insurrection Act to escalate deportations, the 3.5 million SSNs remain a flashpoint, symbolizing either economic necessity or systemic overreach, depending on one’s lens.
