How do Social Security number issuance rates for noncitizens compare between the Trump and Biden administrations?
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Executive summary
Data cited by politicians and media show a sharp rise in Social Security numbers (SSNs) issued to noncitizens between FY2021 and FY2024, with reporting that more than 2 million noncitizens received SSNs in FY2024 and roughly 964,000 in FY2023 (sources citing those figures: [5]; p1_s2). Independent fact-checkers and auditors say the increase largely reflects an existing SSA program (“Enumeration Beyond Entry”) and expanded legal immigration pathways under Biden rather than a new, unlawful mass program [1] [2] [3].
1. Numbers on the table: what the political claims say
Republican officials and allied commentators have asserted that millions of “illegal aliens” were given SSNs under President Biden — for example, a White House fact sheet claimed “more than 2 million illegal aliens assigned SSNs in fiscal year 2024” [4], and multiple conservative outlets and social posts repeat charts showing FY2024 above 2 million and roughly 964,000 in FY2023 [5]. Those raw counts have been used as a headline statistic to argue a dramatic policy difference between the Trump and Biden years [5] [4].
2. Why watchdogs say the headline lacks necessary context
Fact-checkers and reporting from Poynter, Snopes and others point out that the counts cited track people issued Social Security numbers under a process called Enumeration Beyond Entry (EBE), which dates to 2017 and applies to lawfully present noncitizens; EBE was expanded under Biden to new parole and humanitarian categories, making increases expected [1] [3] [2]. A 2019 Office of Inspector General audit explained SSA’s speed in issuing numbers relies on USCIS having already collected and verified applicants’ information — which undercuts claims of “virtually zero vetting” [1].
3. Comparing Trump vs. Biden: program vs. policy, not necessarily apples-to-apples counts
The EBE mechanism began during the Trump administration in 2017; under Biden the program’s scope widened as humanitarian parole and Temporary Protected Status expanded, producing higher issuance counts [2] [1]. That means the increase in SSNs to noncitizens is partly a function of different immigration flows and lawful pathways rather than solely an administrative decision to “give out” numbers without verification [1] [2].
4. What audits and SSA data reveal about accuracy and vetting
Government audits cited in reporting find SSA correctly processed noncitizen SSN cases at very high rates — one piece notes SSA “correctly processed cases … 99.8% of the time” — and the OIG has previously documented why multiple SSNs or rapid issuance happen, again tied to USCIS validation [6] [1]. That reporting challenges claims that SSNs issued en masse equate to fraud or a breakdown in vetting [6] [1].
5. The political framing: motives and implications
Supporters of the Trump line frame the numbers to argue an “open borders” policy that burdens taxpayers and enables voter fraud; the White House fact sheet, for example, couples the SSN figures with fiscal cost claims and language about “illegal aliens” [4]. Critics and neutral reporters say the framing conflates lawful noncitizen admissions with unlawful entry and omits that SSNs are routinely issued to many categories of legal immigrants for work and tax purposes [1] [2] [3].
6. What remains uncertain or unaddressed in available reporting
Available sources document counts and program history but do not provide a full apples-to-apples issuance rate comparison that isolates only unlawfully present migrants versus lawfully admitted noncitizens across Trump and Biden years; sources either discuss total noncitizen SSNs or focus on EBE-related legal admissions [5] [1] [3]. Comprehensive SSA breakdowns distinguishing lawful parolees, TPS holders, visa-based entrants and unlawfully present individuals by fiscal year are not detailed in the provided reporting — not found in current reporting [1] [3].
7. Bottom line for readers
The raw numbers show a marked rise in SSNs issued to noncitizens during the period cited (more than 2 million in FY2024 and roughly 964,000 in FY2023 in some accounts), but oversight reporting and audits attribute most of the rise to an established SSA program (EBE) and to expansions of legal immigration pathways under Biden — not to an unprecedented, unvetted giveaway [5] [1] [2] [3]. Claims that these counts equate to mass illegal enfranchisement or systemic vetting failure are contradicted by auditors and journalists who emphasize program history and verification processes [1] [6].