Headline Roundup • April 1st, 2025
Musk Highlights Increase in Social Security Numbers Given to Non-Citizens
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Elon Musk shared a chart indicating a significant rise in the number of non-citizens being granted Social Security numbers at a rally in Wisconsin on Sunday.
For Context: The Enumeration Beyond Entry (EBE) program, which expedites the issuance of Social Security numbers to legal immigrants, was initiated during the Trump administration in 2017, according to a 2019 Social Security Administration (SSA) inspector general’s report. The SSA coordinates with the Department of Homeland Security to verify the legal status of immigrants authorized to work in the country, after which they are automatically issued Social Security numbers.
From The Left: The Rolling Stone (Left bias) noted that Musk and his DOGE colleague Antonio Gracias failed to clarify that the chart detailed the allocation of Social Security numbers, not benefits, to non-citizens. It also added that the EBE program that Musk's complaints were tied to began under Trump. The article labeled Musk and Gracia's claims misinformation.
From The Right: Fox News (Right) said, “The chart showed a steady year-over-year increase under Biden, reaching more than 2 million in FY 2024.” It noted, “President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing all public assistance and social services in the U.S. to stop providing access to noncitizens, stating such services are intended for U.S. citizens.”
How The Media Covered It: The story was mostly picked up by outlets on the right that repeated Musk and Gracias' claims. The Washington Examiner (Lean Right) and Breitbart (Right) included Musk and Gracias' comments blaming the Biden administration for the rise. They did not include context about the EBE program.
Revised by the AllSides staff (of humans) after a first draft from our custom AI. Learn more. Support our mission.
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Elon Musk shared a chart during a get-out-the-vote rally in Wisconsin over the weekend, which he claimed showed millions of noncitizens received Social Security numbers during former President Joe Biden's tenure.
The event came just a day-and-a-half before polls opened in a contentious state judicial race.
The Sunday town hall garnered a lot of attention Monday over Musk's move to hand out $1 million checks to two Wisconsin voters who signed a petition calling for an end to "activist judges," after the state's Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge arguing the...
At his million-dollar elections giveaway in Wisconsin on Sunday night, Elon Musk shared a supposedly “mind blowing” chart showing a sharp uptick in immigrants receiving Social Security numbers.
The chart showed that noncitizens have increasingly been granted Social Security numbers, not benefits, although Musk and Antonio Gracias, a staffer with his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) did not make that distinction. “These are noncitizens that are getting Social Security,” said Gracias, a Musk ally and head of a private equity firm.
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