How many non-citizens did the Biden administration issue social security cards too?

1. The headline number and how it was reported

The figure often quoted in media and punditry — about 2.1 million non‑citizen SSNs issued in fiscal year 2024, and a cumulative near‑4 million since 2021 — originates from graphics circulated by conservative commentators and amplified by outlets citing those graphics ^{[1] [2]}, and similar claims appeared in partisan White House briefings from the prior administration asserting “more than 2 million” SSNs assigned in FY2024 ^[7]. Those public tallies are the proximate source for the question of “how many” non‑citizens received SSNs during the Biden years ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

2. What the Social Security Administration’s rules actually say

The Social Security Administration states that Social Security numbers are assigned to noncitizens who are authorized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to work in the United States or who can show lawful presence for other valid reasons, and non‑work SSNs require proof of lawful presence and purpose ^{[4] [8] [6]}. The SSA marks work‑authorized noncitizen cards with “VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION,” underscoring that an SSN is tied to immigration status and work eligibility rather than blanket residency ^[6].

3. Why the counts rose — expected program mechanics, not a mystery “giveaway”

Fact‑checking organizations and reporting by news outlets explain the surge in SSNs reflected by the charts as largely predictable: expansions in lawful immigration pathways, programs such as Enumeration Beyond Entry that coordinate USCIS and SSA data flows, and the fact that USCIS collects and verifies biographic documents before SSA issues numbers all made an uptick in SSN issuance likely and administratively straightforward ^{[5] [3]}. Experts told reporters that an increase in SSNs for noncitizens was “inevitable” given changes in lawful admissions, parole, and temporary protections that create work authorization ^{[4] [3]}.

4. The political spin and the misinformation risk

Despite accurate program descriptions, commentators and political actors have framed the raw SSN counts as proof of mass fraud, voter manipulation, or illicit benefit claims; fact‑checkers have repeatedly found those extensions false or unsupported because an SSN does not equal citizenship or automatic eligibility for all federal benefits, and noncitizens cannot vote in federal elections merely by obtaining an SSN ^{[5] [9] [3]}. Some official documents from other administrations have used similar figures for partisan claims without clarifying the legal distinctions between authorized workers and undocumented persons ^[7], highlighting an implicit political agenda in how the numbers are presented.

5. Bottom line and reporting limits

Using the widely circulated fiscal‑year breakdowns cited above yields an aggregate of roughly 3.92 million non‑citizen Social Security numbers issued during FY2021–FY2024 (270k + 590k + 960k + 2.1M) as reported in the public charts and contemporary media coverage ^{[1] [2] [3]}. However, the sources reviewed also make clear that SSA issues SSNs only after immigration status or work authorization is verified by USCIS, and authoritative statements caution against equating SSN issuance with undocumented status or ineligibility ^{[4] [5] [6]}. No single SSA press release in the provided reporting supplies an official consolidated Biden‑administration total that is independent of the circulated chart, so the ~3.92 million figure should be read as the best public estimate reflected in the cited reporting rather than a narrowly verified administrative proclamation ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.