Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Homeland Security Subpoenas County Agency for Info on State Immigrant Benefit Program

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Monday it issued a subpoena to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services as part of a probe into the state’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants to determine if people in the country illegally have been receiving benefits for which they are ineligible.

The program provides money to a select group of non-citizens — people who are over age 65, blind or disabled and are ineligible for Social Security benefits due to their immigration status.

“The Trump Administration is working together to identify abuse and exploitation of public benefits and make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over. While this subpoena focuses only on Los Angeles County, it is just the beginning.”

The subpoena requested a wide array of information from the county DPSS, which administers the state program, targeting program applicants since 2021. It requests names and dates of birth for all applicants, along with copies of the applications, their immigration status, proof of ineligibility for Social Security benefits and affidavits filed in support of the applications.

According to DHS, more than 2 million ineligible non-citizens in the country illegally received a Social Security number in 2024 alone. President Donald Trump signed an order in April barring anyone in the country illegally from obtaining Social Security benefits.

David Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California and SEIU-United Service Workers West, issued a statement blasting the federal investigation, calling it a campaign by Trump “to instill fear in immigrant communities.”

“The Department of Homeland Security has no basis for its legal bullying of Los Angeles County and the state of California,” Huerta said. “The federal government does not have the right to dictate how our state chooses to use state funds to fight poverty in our communities. The sole purpose of this sham `investigation’ is clear: intimidation of people seeking safety and of all those who provide them with needed support. We will not be intimidated, and we will not back down.”