What are the SSA counts of SSNs issued to noncitizens for 2022, 2023, and 2024?

1. What reporters are citing: big jumps in SSNs for noncitizens

Several news analyses and fact-checks point to a sharp increase in SSN issuance to noncitizens after 2021, with one NewsNation report saying 590,000 noncitizens received SSNs in fiscal year 2022 and 964,000 in fiscal year 2023 — figures it attributes to EBE-related data (Enumeration Beyond Entry) that feed SSA’s counts ^{[2] [1]}. Those two numbers are the most-noted published counts in the provided reporting ^[2].

2. Why counts rose: the EBE pipeline and lawful work authorization

The rise described in reporting is explained largely by the Enumeration Beyond Entry (EBE) process, which lets many immigrants request SSNs through immigration forms (for example I-765 or N-400) so workers can be assigned numbers immediately upon appropriate DHS vetting ^{[1] [3]}. The SSA and Congressional Research Service note that most SSNs issued to noncitizens are work-authorized SSNs, and that the SSA relies on DHS verification to process these requests ^{[4] [5]}.

3. Fiscal vs. calendar year and data gaps: the definitional problem

News stories quote fiscal-year counts (FY2022, FY2023), but the user asked for counts by calendar year 2022–2024. Available reporting contains FY totals cited above but does not provide an explicit SSA-published breakdown for calendar years 2022, 2023, and 2024 in the materials supplied here; therefore a direct calendar-year comparison is not found in current reporting (p1_s12; available sources do not mention calendar-year SSN issuance totals for 2024).

4. Accuracy and audits: why counts alone can mislead

Independent fact-checkers and government audits have warned that raw counts can be misunderstood. PolitiFact and Poynter say the numbers reflect lawful processes and that the rapid increase was expected given EBE and immigration flows; a 2019 SSA Inspector General audit also documented enumeration problems in the past but did not invalidate the concept that many SSNs are lawfully assigned via EBE ^{[1] [6]}. The Congressional Research Service explains that about 99% of SSNs issued each year are work-authorized, underscoring that issuance does not automatically equal ineligibility for benefits or voter registration ^[4].

5. What SSA says about who gets SSNs

SSA guidance is explicit: generally only noncitizens authorized to work by DHS can get an original SSN for employment purposes, and other non-work SSNs are limited and special-purpose ^{[5] [7]}. That framework explains why EBE, which links DHS authorization with SSA issuance, produces large counts of noncitizen SSNs when work authorization applications rise ^{[5] [3]}.

6. Conflicting narratives and political uses of the data

Several public figures presented EBE-era charts as evidence of wrongdoing or improper benefits, while fact-checkers countered that issuance via EBE is lawful and routine; Poynter and PolitiFact conclude the phenomenon is not nefarious and ties to established processes ^{[1] [6]}. Reports such as NewsNation’s highlight large raw numbers and quotes from critics, so consumers should note both the legal process (EBE) and the political framing in those stories ^{[2] [1]}.

7. How to get precise counts and what to request

If you need exact counts by calendar year for 2022, 2023, and 2024, request SSA’s official enumeration statistics or DHS/USCIS EBE reporting. The sources provided here cite FY totals in news reports but do not include an SSA-published calendar-year table for 2024, so the most reliable next step is to consult SSA or DHS primary data releases or ask SSA for a historic SSN issuance breakdown by citizenship status and calendar year (p1_s12; available sources do not mention a direct SSA calendar-year table for 2024).

8. Bottom line for readers

Available reporting documents large increases in SSNs issued to noncitizens in FY2022 and FY2023 tied to routine EBE procedures and work authorization verification ^{[2] [1]}. The supplied sources do not contain a single authoritative calendar-year series for 2022–2024; obtain SSA or DHS raw enumeration data to settle precise calendar-year counts (available sources do not mention a consolidated SSA calendar-year dataset for 2024).