Social Security to Pay Hundreds of Billions to Illegal Aliens

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Social Security to Pay Hundreds of Billions to Illegal Aliens

Saturday, December 31st, 2011 | blogging

Bruce Krasting has the story. It turns out that, by law apparently, illegal aliens who have used fake Social Security numbers are still entitled to benefits.

Assume: A person comes illegally to the US and illegally obtains a fake SS and using that fake # finds work. This person stays in the US continuing to work illegally for many years. During that period this person has SS payroll taxes deducted from their paycheck. This person returns to (Mexico) and at age 62 applies for SS retirement benefits.

Question: Is this person entitled to receive benefits? If so what are the conditions for payment?

Well, I got this wrong. So did all the people I asked (including a lawyer). How about you? The answer is that an illegal worker using an illegal SSN has the same rights to SS benefits as a legal worker with a legal SSN. The only difference is that the person who worked illegally must receive those SS benefits outside of the USA.

Not only do they get benefits, but since they must receive them outside the U.S., it looks like we’ll be subsidizing retirement in Mexico for a lot of illegals. Krasting estimates that, as of 2007, Social Security has collected over $240 billion from illegals, which has meant a crucial boost to the Social Security Trust Fund.

In a comment, Krasting writes:

No one, no matter how much has been paid in, or for how long, has any entitlement whatsoever to SS benefit payments. None. The courts have ruled definitively on this.

The dirty little secret about SS is this: It′s just a tax. Nothing more. A tax that Congress levies and spends as it wishes; the so-called ‘Trust Fund’ is evidence of this — i.e. the money has already been spent.

The law regarding collection of taxes (‘contributions′) and payment of benefits can be changed at any time.

So all Congress has to do is change the law to deny benefits to illegals. Which is what ought to be done, regardless of whether some people find this ‘fair’ or not. I’ll concede the point: it isn’t ‘fair’. But there has to be some cost to coming and working here illegally. This is one of the costs. And the US ought to publicize this wide and far on the chance that it might deter some people from coming to the US illegally.