WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum aimed at blocking illegal immigrants from receiving Social Security benefits, arguing that only legal American citizens should be eligible for benefits.

The move aims to remove monetary incentives for illegal aliens to come to the United States, the White House explained in a fact sheet released Tuesday, noting that Trump has repeatedly promised to take illegal immigrants off Social Security, and that the president signed an executive order in February ordering taxpayer resources not be used to incentivize or support illegal immigration.

Under President Joe Biden’s administration, more than 2 million illegal immigrants were assigned Social Security numbers in just the 2024 fiscal year, the White House said. The White House argues that the Biden administration’s actions continue to steal money and important services from American citizens.

The president’s memorandum directs his administration to make sure that illegal aliens are not receiving funds from any Social Security programs, prioritizing enforcement actions against any grantees or sub-grantees that fail to verify eligibility or stop payments to deceased or ineligible people who are receiving these benefits.

(Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Social Security Administration’s Inspector General must investigate the earnings reports for individuals who are 100 or older and have mismatched records, in order to combat identity theft, the memorandum says. Additionally, Trump’s action expands the Social Security Administration’s fraud prosecutor program to 50 or more U.S. Attorney’s offices across the United States, and establishes a Medicaid fraud-prosecution program in 15 U.S. Attorney’s offices.

The administration has already stopped over 1,000 immigrants with ties to terrorist activity or criminal records from receiving Social Security benefits, the White House said. As part of its efforts to remove illegal immigrants from the country, the Trump administration has also launched the CBP Home app, which offers illegals an opportunity to “self-deport.”

According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the Biden border agenda cost federal and state taxpayers over $16.2 billion. The Federation for American Immigration Reform has calculated that American taxpayers spent at least $182 billion annually covering the costs of 20 million immigrants and their children who entered the country illegally, the White House said. That figure includes $66.4 billion in federal expenses, and $115.6 billion in state and local expenses.