Overview of Current Issues

Recent investigations, led by figures like Elon Musk and Antonio Gracias alongside the DOGE team, have highlighted significant concerns regarding immigration fraud and government corruption under the Biden administration. One critical point raised is the ease with which individuals applying for asylum can obtain work authorizations and subsequently access various benefits, including Social Security numbers.

Work Authorization and Asylum Applications

The regulations set forth by the U.S. government allow asylum seekers to apply for work permits just five months after submitting their asylum applications, regardless of the application’s outcome. Crucially, there is no cost associated with filing these applications, incentivizing potentially fraudulent claims as a means to gain legal employment and access to public benefits.

The process for adjudicating asylum claims can take years, whereas applications for employment authorization are prioritized and typically resolved within months. This discrepancy has led to concerns about the system being exploited by individuals who may not have genuine asylum claims.

Impact of Increased Employment Documents

According to reports, the Biden administration has issued an unprecedented number of employment documents to various groups of temporary aliens, complicating the workflow for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The situation has reached a point where, in December 2024, DHS implemented a rule to extend the duration of employment authorizations automatically from six to eighteen months, thereby sidestepping questions about the applicants’ eligibility.

Statistics and Findings

Data shared by Gracias revealed alarming trends in the issuance of Social Security numbers to non-citizens:

• 270,000 new Social Security numbers were issued in FY2021.
• This number surged to 590,000 in FY2022.
• By FY2023, it reached 964,000.
• The estimated figure for FY2024 is approximately 2.1 million.

The Social Security Administration has reportedly mailed these numbers without requiring individuals to verify their identities, which raises further concerns about the integrity of the system.

Concerns Over Medicaid and Voting

Further investigations by DOGE revealed that around 1.3 million non-citizens were receiving Medicaid benefits, with instances of individuals registered to vote—some of whom may have participated in elections.

Proposals for Reform

To mitigate these challenges, several reforms have been proposed:

• Legislation that limits work authorization to applicants whose benefits have been approved, rather than just filed.
• Implementation of anti-fraud measures to reduce the volume of fraudulent asylum applications.
• Increased scrutiny of immigration benefit applications by entities like DOGE, targeting fraudulent claims to streamline the adjudication process.
• Automated notifications across various government systems to ensure that all relevant agencies are informed when an immigration benefit is denied or terminated.

Conclusion

By enacting these reforms, Congress and organizations like DOGE can contribute to reducing the population of deportable individuals, ensure the benefits intended for U.S. taxpayers are protected, and encourage compliance with the immigration system. Addressing these complexities is essential to restoring the integrity of U.S. immigration policies.