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(NewsNation) — The Department of Homeland Security is investigating a California state-funded programme that assists disabled migrant residents, alleging it provided Supplemental Security Income benefits to immigrants who entered the United States illegally and whom national officials accidental were not entitled to person fiscal assistance.
DHS sent a subpoena to the State of California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants’ Los Angeles tract office, ordering that it manus implicit records relating to SSI payments made to migrants since 2021. The bureau said that nether the enactment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, it volition not let U.S. payer dollars to beryllium “squandered” connected migrants.
A DHS quality merchandise did not specify however overmuch fiscal assistance was provided to immigrants who benefited from CAPI betwixt 2021 and the existent time.
"Radical near politicians successful California prioritize amerciable aliens implicit our ain citizens, including by giving amerciable aliens entree to currency benefits,” Noem said successful a connection issued by DHS. “The Trump Administration is moving unneurotic to place maltreatment and exploitation of nationalist benefits and marque definite those successful this state illegally are not receiving national benefits oregon different fiscal incentives to enactment illegally.
"If you are an amerciable immigrant, you should permission now. The gravy bid is over. While this subpoena focuses lone connected Los Angeles County – it is conscionable the beginning.”
What is CAPI?
According to its website, CAPI is simply a programme that is 100% state-funded and is designed to supply monthly currency benefits to aged, unsighted and disabled noncitizens who were ineligible to person SSI benefits solely owed to their migration status.
The state-run programme provides migrants with benefits that are equivalent to the magnitude of wealth they would person from Social Security if they were eligible, the bureau said. The recipients of the benefits are eligible to person aesculapian benefits, assistance to acquisition nutrient and assistance with lodging costs but indispensable use for each payment separately.
Kristi Noem, caput of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), during a gathering with US President Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, not pictured, successful the Oval Office of the White House successful Washington, DC, US, connected Monday, April 14, 2025. Bukele said a Maryland antheral deported to his state by Trump's medication would not beryllium returned to the US, adjacent arsenic the Supreme Court has called for Trump's medication to facilitate his release. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe Public Policy Institute of California reports that astir 1.1 cardinal radical successful California person SSI and State Supplementary Payment monthly grants. About 40% of the recipients are 65 oregon younger. A DSS spokesperson said that during fiscal twelvemonth 2024-2025, CASI served 16,556 people.
A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom told NewsNation connected Monday that the California Department of Social Services, which oversees CAPI, would respond connected behalf of Newsom’s administration.
A DSS spokesperson told NewsNation that the programme is not mostly disposable to undocumented California residents. The programme was created successful 1988 by then-Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican, arsenic a authorities mentation of the national SSI program.
CASI funds are allocated by counties. The spokesperson directed NewsNation to Los Angeles County for further remark but said that a Ninth Circuit Court ruling holds broad Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoenas invalid.
A spokesperson from the region did not instantly respond to NewsNation's petition for remark connected Monday.
Trump medication eliminated Social Security for migrants
The subpoena is demanding that CAPI supply DHS officials with records, including the applicants’ names and day of birth, copies of applications for SSI benefits, the migration presumption of applicants, impervious of ineligibility for SSI benefits from the Social Security Administration and affidavits relating to the exertion for benefits.
Homeland Security officials said that the probe came aft President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that prevents immigrants who entered the state illegally from receiving SSA benefits. Officials said the memo was signed to halt incentivizing amerciable migration and to support U.S. taxpayers' dollars.
The memorandum directs DHS and respective different national officials, including the lawyer general, to guarantee that “ineligible amerciable aliens” bash not person funds from Social Security programs.
It besides prioritizes civilian oregon transgression enforcement against states oregon municipalities that interruption a information of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.
Are noncitizens eligible for SSI benefits?
Immigrants who bash not person ineligible presumption arsenic U.S. residents became ineligible to person Social Security benefits owed to the Welfare Reform Act of 1996.
Under the Act, radical who received SSI benefits earlier 1996 are nary longer eligible. The Los Angeles Times reported that a tiny fig of radical who unrecorded successful California are eligible to person benefits from CAPI if they are low-income noncitizens who conscionable the migration presumption criteria that were enactment into spot successful 1996.
DHS officials said that much than 2 cardinal immigrants who entered the state illegally received a Social Security number successful fiscal twelvemonth 2024 alone.
The Social Security Administration reports that, successful general, lone noncitizens who are authorized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to enactment successful the state are eligible to person Social Security numbers.
A 2024 investigation conducted by the Institute connected Taxation and Economic Policy showed that migrants successful the U.S. illegally paid $96.7 cardinal into federal, authorities and section taxes successful 2022.
Migrant employees who person been issued enactment permits besides paid $25.7 cardinal successful Social Security taxes and $6.4 cardinal successful Medicare taxes during the aforesaid year, although, successful astir cases, those undocumented workers are not eligible to person benefits from national agencies specified arsenic the Social Security Administration.
