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Fact check: The media doesn’t want you to know, From 2021-2024, Over 3.5 Million New Non-Citizen Social Security Numbers Were Issued!
1. Summary of the results
The claim that "Over 3.5 Million New Non-Citizen Social Security Numbers Were Issued" from 2021-2024 appears to be partially supported but lacks complete verification from the available sources. Elon Musk and Antonio Gracias displayed a chart showing over 5 million non-citizens who were issued Social Security numbers between 2021 and 2025 [1]. However, this figure covers a longer timeframe (2021-2025) than the original claim (2021-2024) and represents a higher number.
The Trump administration's fact sheet confirms that Biden oversaw a sharp increase in the number of immigrants given Social Security Numbers, with more than 2 million illegal aliens assigned SSNs in fiscal year 2024 alone [2]. This single-year figure suggests the multi-year total could indeed reach or exceed 3.5 million.
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
The original statement omits crucial context about the legal nature of many of these Social Security number issuances. Experts argue that the chart likely represents immigrants with legal work authorizations, not those who are in the country illegally [1]. These numbers include immigrants with legal work authorizations who were given Social Security numbers through the Enumeration Beyond Entry program [1].
Immigration policy experts and government officials would benefit from clarifying this distinction, as it significantly changes the narrative from one of illegal activity to standard administrative processing. Conversely, political figures like Elon Musk and Antonio Gracias benefit from presenting these numbers without context to support arguments about immigration fraud [1] [3] [4].
The analyses reveal that experts say this is a normal part of the system and not evidence of fraud or wrongdoing [5]. Additionally, experts question the accuracy of these claims and raise concerns about potential violations of privacy laws when Social Security data is used to make political arguments [4].
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The statement contains several misleading elements. The phrase "The media doesn't want you to know" suggests a conspiracy without evidence, when in fact multiple major news outlets including CBS News, CNN, The Washington Post, and NPR have extensively covered this topic [1] [6] [5] [4].
The statement conflates different categories of non-citizens by failing to distinguish between legal immigrants with work authorization and those in the country illegally. While the Trump administration claims more than 2 million illegal aliens were assigned SSNs in fiscal year 2024 [2], other sources indicate many of these numbers were issued to immigrants with legal work authorizations [1].
The framing implies wrongdoing where experts indicate this represents normal administrative processes [5]. Political operatives like Elon Musk and Antonio Gracias benefit from this misleading framing as it supports their policy positions, while immigration advocacy groups and legal experts benefit from providing the missing context about legal work authorization [1] [5] [4].