How many illegal immigrants benefit from the social security system?
Republicans are tagging Democratic opponents across the country for wanting to “give Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants.” But nobody’s proposing paying benefits to illegals, not until and unless they become US citizens or are granted legal status. The charge is a mis-characterization of an amendment offered during debate of the immigration bill that passed the Senate last May with a healthy bi-partisan majority, 62-36. The amendment would change current law to prevent immigrants from getting credit toward future Social Security benefits from taxes paid before they have legal permission to work. The measure has become a popular campaign issue for Republicans, particularly incumbent House members who raise it against their Democratic challengers. We have counted 29 GOP ads attacking Democrats with various versions of this misleading claim. Similar misconceptions about the measure were spread as part of a chain e-mail last spring and summer. Along with this latest swarm of ads
Annie was an ethnic Chinese born in Malaysia who had legally emigrated to the U.S. decades ago. She entered my law office with her mother, who clutched a well-worn copy of a Chinese language book called What You Need to Know About Life in America that is eventually encountered by most immigration lawyers. Annie knew her mother had no legal basis to remain in the U.S. She had overstayed her tourist visa and had never applied for any type of immigration benefit beyond that, though she had managed to remain for years, working off the books and going undetected by the INS. Annie had brought her mother to my office not for an immigration matter, but for retirement planning. She had one question, “What do I have to do to qualify her for SSI?” SSI, or Supplemental Security Income, is a federal cash benefit program for persons 65 or older, or those who are blind or have a disability. SSI payments are generally unavailable to most people already receiving Social Security benefits, though an ind
The answer is, little or nothing. Here’s why. If you’re an illegal resident and get a legitimate Social Security number, and work long enough to qualify for benefits, you can collect if you move outside the United States. (However, you can’t collect if you stay here, under Social Security rules.) But paying those benefits — which illegal immigrants have earned by paying Social Security taxes, along with their employers — is the same as paying a legal resident who has similar payment history. Social Security is an earned benefit — it’s not like Medicaid or welfare — and those who have paid into the system, whether or not they’re here legally, have earned it. If you’re an illegal immigrant with a phony Social Security number, you’re helping Social Security, because you and your employer pay into the system but you don’t get any benefits from it. The money is credited to a “no-match” account at the Social Security Administration.
Republicans are tagging Democratic opponents across the country for wanting to “give Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants.” But nobody’s proposing paying benefits to illegals, not until and unless they become US citizens or are granted legal status. The charge is a mis-characterization of an amendment offered during debate of the immigration bill that passed the Senate last May with a healthy bi-partisan majority, 62-36. The amendment would change current law to prevent immigrants from getting credit toward future Social Security benefits from taxes paid before they have legal permission to work. The measure has become a popular campaign issue for Republicans, particularly incumbent House members who raise it against their Democratic challengers. We have counted 29 GOP ads attacking Democrats with various versions of this misleading claim. Similar misconceptions about the measure were spread as part of a chain e-mail last spring and summer. Along with this latest swarm of ads
Annie was an ethnic Chinese born in Malaysia who had legally emigrated to the U.S. decades ago. She entered my law office with her mother, who clutched a well-worn copy of a Chinese language book called What You Need to Know About Life in America that is eventually encountered by most immigration lawyers. Annie knew her mother had no legal basis to remain in the U.S. She had overstayed her tourist visa and had never applied for any type of immigration benefit beyond that, though she had managed to remain for years, working off the books and going undetected by the INS. Annie had brought her mother to my office not for an immigration matter, but for retirement planning. She had one question, “What do I have to do to qualify her for SSI?” SSI, or Supplemental Security Income, is a federal cash benefit program for persons 65 or older, or those who are blind or have a disability. SSI payments are generally unavailable to most people already receiving Social Security benefits, though an ind
