At a rally in Wisconsin, Elon Musk made false claims about extensive fraud at an agency that affects almost everyone: the Social Security Administration.
"This is a mind-blowing chart," Musk said, displaying a bar graph on a giant screen that showed millions of Social Security Numbers recently assigned to non-U.S. citizens.
The Social Security press office would not respond to requests from Scripps News to share the chart so that it could be authenticated.
Musk said, without providing evidence, that it showed undocumented immigrants were signing up for Social Security during the Biden administration to fraudulently obtain payments.
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There is another explanation for why non-citizens are assigned Social Security Numbers, and it doesn't involve fraud. Documented immigrants who are authorized to work in the U.S. register for numbers so that, just like most everyone else who has a job, part of their paychecks can go toward Social Security disability and retirement programs.
"The employer needs that Social Security Number to withhold their money," said Evelyn Cruz, law professor at Arizona State University. "Just because you have a Social Security Number issued to you does not mean that you will eventually receive Social Security."
Since 1996, it has been against the law for unauthorized immigrants to receive Social Security payments, even if they've paid into the system.
Musk also falsely claimed the Biden administration was giving out numbers so immigrants could use them to commit voter fraud and help elect Democrats.
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"It was a massive, large-scale program to import as many illegals as possible, ultimately to change the entire voting map of the United States," Musk said during the Wisconsin appearance.
The truth is, only three states — Connecticut, Kentucky and West Virginia — accept a Social Security card as a form of identification when registering to vote. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in those states or anywhere else.
Another inaccurate claim by Musk is that immigrants can fake their way to getting a Social Security Number with a phony utility or medical bill. The actual requirements are much stricter. Immigrants must provide their U.S. immigration documents to prove their legal status as well as an unexpired passport.
"Even if they came in with a beautiful fake Green Card, the system is set up that there is a cross check," Cruz said.
