Fact check: Did Biden have immigrants on Social Security

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, there is substantial evidence that the Biden administration did oversee policies that resulted in immigrants receiving Social Security Numbers and potentially accessing Social Security benefits. Multiple sources confirm that more than 2 million illegal aliens were assigned Social Security Numbers (SSNs) in fiscal year 2024 alone during Biden's presidency ^[1].

The evidence shows that:

• The Biden administration oversaw a sharp increase in the number of immigrants given Social Security Numbers ^[1]
• Noncitizens can be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits under certain conditions ^[2]
• There were documented cases of immigrants unlawfully receiving Social Security benefits, including a Colombian woman in Boston who was indicted for identity theft offenses related to receiving Social Security benefits ^[3]
• Biden announced programs like "parole-in-place" that would allow certain spouses of U.S. citizens to receive work permits and temporary protections ^[4]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks important nuance about the legal framework surrounding immigrant access to Social Security benefits. The analyses reveal several key missing contexts:

• Legal vs. illegal pathways: Some immigrants may legitimately qualify for Social Security benefits through programs like the Enumeration Beyond Entry program, which assigns Social Security numbers to immigrants legally authorized to work in the U.S. ^[5]
• Trump administration response: The current Trump administration has taken steps to address this issue by classifying living immigrants as dead and canceling their Social Security numbers to push them out of the system ^[6]
• Conflicting interpretations: While Trump administration sources characterize the Biden policies as problematic, other analyses suggest that some of these claims about the Social Security system and immigrants may be false or misleading ^[5]

Political beneficiaries of different narratives include:

• Trump administration officials who benefit from portraying Biden's immigration policies as fiscally irresponsible
• Immigration advocacy groups who benefit from defending the legitimacy of programs that provide work authorization
• Elon Musk and other Trump allies who have promoted claims about Social Security and immigrants ^[5]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question "Did Biden have immigrants on Social Security" contains potential bias through its oversimplified framing. The question:

• Lacks specificity about whether it refers to legal or illegal access to benefits
• Omits context about existing legal pathways for immigrant access to Social Security programs
• Implies wrongdoing without acknowledging that some immigrant access to Social Security may be legally authorized

The analyses suggest that while Biden's policies did result in increased immigrant access to Social Security Numbers, the characterization of this as entirely improper may be misleading. One source specifically notes that claims about the Social Security system and immigrants may contain falsehoods ^[5], and that the Enumeration Beyond Entry program represents a legitimate process for assigning Social Security numbers to work-authorized immigrants.

The framing benefits those who want to portray immigration policy in stark terms while potentially obscuring the legal complexities of how Social Security eligibility actually works for different categories of immigrants.