White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed on Tuesday that President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order aimed at limiting undocumented immigrants' access to benefits under the Social Security Act. The order will also expand efforts to investigate fraud within these programs.
Leavitt specified that the president will be signing a presidential memorandum that includes the following directives:
Restricting Benefits: The memorandum instructs government agencies to enforce measures that prevent ineligible individuals, including those in the country illegally, from accessing Social Security funds.
Enhancing Fraud Investigations: The Social Security Administration's Anti-Fraud Prosecutors Program will be strengthened, expanding its reach to at least 50 federal prosecutor offices nationwide. Additionally, a parallel initiative focusing on Medicare fraud will be launched, initially operating in 15 U.S. attorney offices.
Auditing Suspicious Income: The Inspector General of the Social Security Administration will be tasked with investigating income reports related to individuals over 100 years old whose records show inconsistencies as part of efforts to tackle identity theft.
The memorandum further requests the Social Security Administration to consider reinstating the use of civil actions and financial penalties against individuals committing fraud in the system, a practice that had been on hold for several years.
Leavitt emphasized that these programs are taxpayer-funded and, therefore, should be reserved solely for those meeting legal eligibility criteria. She criticized President Joe Biden's previous administration, claiming that under his leadership, "tens of millions of illegal immigrants" remained in the country, with many fraudulently accessing these benefits.
Recently, it was reported that the Trump Administration has adopted a controversial strategy to fulfill its promise of ramping up mass deportations. According to an investigation first published by The New York Times, the U.S. government has declared over 6,000 migrants with temporary legal status as deceased, thus invalidating their Social Security numbers and cutting off their access to financial services, government benefits, and employment. Some officials have described this process as a form of "digital assassination," marking a severe escalation in the immigration measures undertaken by the administration.
The goal, as stated by official sources cited by CBS News, is explicit: “to encourage self-deportation.”
Key Details on Trump's Immigration Executive Order
What are the main components of Trump's executive order on Social Security?
The order includes restricting benefits to ineligible individuals, enhancing fraud investigations, and auditing suspicious income. It also suggests reinstating civil actions and penalties for fraud.
How does the executive order aim to tackle fraud?
It strengthens the Anti-Fraud Prosecutors Program and initiates a Medicare fraud program, while also instructing the audit of income reports for individuals over 100 with record inconsistencies.
What is the controversial strategy reported by The New York Times?
The strategy involves declaring over 6,000 migrants with temporary legal status as deceased, invalidating their Social Security numbers and cutting off their access to financial services and benefits.