(Crankers) President Donald Trump’s White House made a massive claim and said they removed 275,000 illegal immigrants from social security.
You might hear people say illegal immigrants aren’t eligible for social security, but one government website suggests there’s a few ways they CAN qualify. Let’s take a look at what SSA.gov themselves had to say:
A noncitizen (also called an “alien” for immigration purposes) may be eligible for SSI if he or she meets the requirements of the laws for noncitizens that went into effect on August 22, 1996. In general, beginning August 22, 1996, most noncitizens must meet two requirements to be potentially eligible for SSI:
Be in a qualified alien category; and
Meet a condition that allows qualified aliens to get SSI.
IMPORTANT: A noncitizen must also meet all of the other rules for SSI eligibility, including the limits on income and resources, etc.
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WHO IS A QUALIFIED ALIEN?
There are 7 categories of qualified aliens. You are a qualified alien if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says you are in one of these categories:
Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence (LAPR) in the U.S., which includes” Amerasian immigrant” as defined in P.L. 100-202, with a class of admission AM-1 through AM-8;
– conditional entry under Section 203(a)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as in effect before April 1, 1980;
– Paroled into the U.S. under Section 212(d)(5) of the INA for a period of at least one year;
– Refugee admitted to the U.S. under Section 207 of the INA;
– Granted asylum under Section 208 of the INA;
– Deportation is being withheld under Section 243(h) of the INA, as in effect before April 1, 1997; or removal is being withheld under Section 241(b)(3) of the INA;
– “Cuban or Haitian entrant” as defined in Section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 or in a status that is to be treated as a “Cuban/ Haitian entrant” for SSI purposes.
In addition, you can be a “deemed qualified alien” if, under certain circumstances, you, your child, or your parent were subjected to battery or extreme cruelty by a family member while in the United States.
UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS MAY A “QUALIFIED ALIEN” BE ELIGIBLE FOR SSI BENEFITS?
If you are in one of the 7 “qualified alien” categories listed above, you may be eligible for SSI if you also meet one of the following conditions:
You were receiving SSI and lawfully residing in the U.S. on August 22, 1996.
You are LAPR with 40 qualifying quarters of work.
Work done by your spouse or parent may also count toward the 40 quarters of work, but only for getting SSI.
Quarters of work earned after December 31, 1996, cannot be counted if you, your spouse, or your parent who worked, received certain benefits from the United States government, based on limited income and resources during that period.