Are there documented cases or audits showing California distributed SSNs to noncitizens (year 2019–2024)?

1. What the California audits actually found — exposure, not policy to give SSNs to noncitizens

California’s state auditor and news reporting document that the Employment Development Department continued mailing forms that contained full Social Security numbers, creating an exposure risk for millions of Californians; the 2019 audit and subsequent 2021 reporting highlighted that EDD mailed forms with SSNs and failed to hide them despite recommendations, but these findings concern privacy and identity‑theft risk rather than a programmatic distribution of SSNs to noncitizen immigrants by the state of California ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Federal enumeration programs explain most increases in SSN issuance to noncitizens, per available sources

Nationally, the Social Security Administration’s Enumeration Beyond Entry (EBE) program — a federal process that began in 2017 and was expanded in later years — is the mechanism by which many noncitizens who are lawfully admitted or otherwise authorized to work are issued SSNs; multiple outlets cite EBE data showing sharp increases in SSNs issued to noncitizens in fiscal years up to 2024, and fact‑checkers and the SSA’s Office of Inspector General have audited aspects of EBE ^{[3] [5] [6] [4] [7]}.

3. Eligibility rules matter: SSNs for noncitizens are legal and often work‑authorized, not prima facie fraud

Legal and Congressional analyses explain that noncitizens who have DHS work authorization or meet evidentiary requirements can be issued SSNs, sometimes with restrictive language on the card (e.g., “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION”); the Congressional Research Service and SSA guidance outline these standard eligibility rules that underpin why increases in SSN issuance can track lawful admissions, naturalizations, and program expansions rather than impropriety ^{[8] [9]}.

4. Claims that California (or other states) ‘gave’ SSNs to noncitizens are not supported by the documents provided

High‑profile claims that millions of noncitizens were being handed SSNs and benefits were amplified in political and media settings, but the evidence in the supplied reporting distinguishes issuance of an SSN (a federal administrative act tied to immigration/work status) from a state distributing SSNs to noncitizens; none of the supplied California audit documents allege that California issued SSNs to noncitizens as a policy or program — the state audits focus on leakage of SSNs in mailed materials and IT modernization failures ^{[1] [2]}.

5. Audits and fact‑checks at the federal level confirm issues but not a California distribution program

The Social Security Administration’s OIG has previously audited EBE (noted in reporting), finding operational problems such as multiple SSNs assigned in some cases, and independent fact‑checks (Snopes, PolitiFact, Rolling Stone coverage) have interrogated nationwide EBE data and political claims — these federal audits document enumeration practices and errors but do not translate into evidence that California state agencies were systematically issuing SSNs to noncitizens during 2019–2024 ^{[7] [3] [4] [10]}.

6. Limits of the public reporting: what cannot be concluded from the supplied sources

The assembled sources do not include a California state audit, investigative report, or official finding that the state intentionally distributed SSNs to noncitizens in the 2019–2024 period; if such a specific California case exists it is not present in the provided material, meaning the absence of evidence in these sources is not proof the event never occurred — it is a limitation of the reviewed reporting ^{[1] [2] [3]}.