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Fact check: Can undocumented immigrants apply for a Social Security number in 2025?
Executive Summary
Undocumented immigrants generally cannot receive Social Security benefits, but eligibility to obtain a Social Security number (SSN) in 2025 depends on immigration status and qualifying federal authorizations: some noncitizen groups—such as certain asylum seekers, temporary work visa holders, and those with specific lawful-status grants—can obtain SSNs, while people without legal status usually cannot [1]. Recent executive action and enforcement memoranda have pushed agencies to prevent ineligible aliens from receiving Social Security Act benefits, but they do not broadly create or remove statutory SSN eligibility categories [2] [3].
1. Who can actually get a Social Security number — the narrow legal reality that matters
Federal law ties SSN issuance to lawful authorization to work or to receive federal benefits that require an SSN. Noncitizens with valid work authorization or certain immigration statuses—like lawful permanent residents, many temporary workers, refugees, asylees, and some humanitarian parolees—can obtain an SSN because they present documents proving authorization to work or benefit eligibility [1]. By contrast, undocumented immigrants without any lawful authorization to work or to receive benefit programs normally do not meet the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) document requirements and therefore cannot get an SSN. This distinction explains why unauthorized workers sometimes use other taxpayer identifiers rather than valid SSNs.
2. Contributions versus benefit access — why the debate is politically charged
Undocumented immigrants contribute to Social Security through payroll taxes, often using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) or sometimes false SSNs, and those contributions are statistically significant for the Trust Fund, according to policy analyses highlighting billions in contributions [4] [1]. That financial reality fuels political arguments: some policy advocates warn that excluding undocumented workers from the workforce or deporting them would reduce payroll-tax revenues, while opponents cite the illegality of benefit receipt for unauthorized noncitizens. The debate has prompted executive-level guidance to tighten enforcement around benefit eligibility [4] [3].
3. Recent policy moves — what the 2025 memoranda actually did and did not change
A 2025 presidential memorandum directed federal agencies and the SSA to ensure ineligible aliens are not receiving Social Security Act benefits and to pursue guidance, regulations, and enforcement actions aimed at preventing improper payments [2] [3]. The memorandum reinforces enforcement but does not rewrite the statutory basis for SSN issuance; it asks agencies to prioritize administrative or civil enforcement and clarify eligibility criteria. The memo’s aim is fiscal and administrative control, not to create a new rule enabling undocumented immigrants to obtain SSNs or benefits where law otherwise forbids it.
4. Practical hurdles and real-world workarounds people use
Because the SSA requires documents showing identity and lawful status or work authorization, undocumented immigrants often lack the paperwork the SSA accepts and therefore cannot receive an SSN through normal channels [1]. In practice, some unauthorized workers use ITINs to file taxes; others have historically used invalid or borrowed SSNs to work, which raises legal and enforcement risks. Administrative errors and enforcement practices—like alleged “deceased” flags used to prompt departures—have added complexity and fear for immigrant communities, complicating the picture of access and enforcement [5] [6].
5. What different stakeholders emphasize — competing framings of the same facts
Advocates for immigrants emphasize that many noncitizen workers pay into Social Security while being barred from benefits, framing policy changes as a moral and fiscal inconsistency [1] [4]. Enforcement-oriented policymakers emphasize protecting program integrity, asserting that existing law should bar ineligible aliens from benefits and that agencies must tighten oversight [2] [3]. News reporting and policy research document both perspectives, with recent coverage focusing on administrative tools and memos rather than on any statutory expansion of SSN access [2] [1].
6. Bottom line for someone asking “Can undocumented immigrants apply for an SSN in 2025?”
The concise legal bottom line is: most undocumented immigrants without lawful work authorization cannot successfully apply for or receive an SSN; those with specific lawful immigration statuses or valid work authorization can and should apply. Administrative memos in 2024–2025 increased enforcement emphasis to prevent ineligible benefit receipt but did not alter statutory SSN eligibility categories [1] [2] [3]. Individuals seeking clarity about their own eligibility should consult SSA guidance and an immigration-qualified attorney because eligibility hinges on precise immigration status and documentation.