The executive order from President Trump seeks to prevent illegal aliens from obtaining Social Security Act benefits. It directs various government agencies, including the Commissioner of Social Security, to take measures to ensure that only eligible individuals receive funds from these programs and that ineligible aliens are not receiving them. The order also prioritizes civil or administrative enforcement actions against States, localities, or other similar grantees or subgrantees that do not take adequate measures to verify eligibility.
The order directs the Attorney General and Commissioner of Social Security to cooperate in establishing a fraud-prosecutor program utilizing Special Assistant United States Attorneys with regard to programs administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which shall operate in at least 15 United States Attorney Offices by October 1, 2025. The order also directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services or the Commissioner of Social Security, as applicable, to prioritize assigning new detailees in both programs to the 10 United States Attorney Offices whose jurisdictions encompass the largest known populations of illegal aliens.
The order further directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of Social Security to review whether, and under what conditions, SSA should resume pursuing civil monetary penalties under section 1129 of the Social Security Act. If the Commissioner determines that resumption is warranted, he shall either resume such program immediately or pursue regulatory or policy changes that would allow its resumption in a timely manner.
Overall, this executive order seeks to strengthen the administration’s efforts to prevent and detect fraud and ensure that only eligible individuals receive funds from these programs by implementing measures to verify eligibility and prioritizing enforcement actions against those who may be violating the law.
Read the full text of the order at the whitehouse.gov website.