Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Social Security Administration (SSA) Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek urging SSA to reverse its pause on significant portions of the Enumeration-Beyond-Entry (EBE) program because the pause increases costs and decreases efficiency and potentially violates multiple federal laws. The EBE program allows millions of people whose Employment Authorization Documents have been approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to receive their legally issued Social Security cards in the mail instead of requiring those individuals to submit—and SSA having to process—a separate application for a Social Security number and card.
“I write with grave concern regarding your legally dubious decision to further interrupt critical services at the Social Security Administration (SSA) by making it more difficult for many people to receive Social Security Numbers (SSN),” wrote Ranking Member Connolly. “I have previously written to you about my concerns that SSA is creating chaos and delays by forcing more people to go in person to SSA field offices at the same time as you are firing large numbers of SSA staff. Forcing SSA to process tens of thousands of additional applications for SSN and cards only compounds this crisis, and given these concerns and its potential illegality, I urge you to immediately reinstate the full EBE program and I request information on your decision to pause portions of the program and the impact it has had.”
Public reporting and documentation obtained by the Committee show that on March 19, 2025, SSA paused significant portions of its EBE program, despite internal concerns that doing so will cause confusion and delays, is potentially illegal, and will cost SSA significantly more money. SSA uses EBE to issue Social Security numbers and cards to non-citizens as part of the process through which a non-citizen applies for and receives work authorization from USCIS, instead of requiring those individuals to submit—and SSA having to process—a separate application for a Social Security number and card.
In his letter, Ranking Member Connolly highlights concerns about how SSA’s pause of the EBE Program strains SSA, increases government spending, and hurts American citizens and legal residents:
- Legal Concerns: On March 19, 2025, SSA reportedly “paused” the EBE program. According to a memo obtained by the Committee dated March 24, 2025, SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek personally approved this pause despite the fact that the same memo outlined multiple legal concerns and warnings about the serious consequences of such a pause, including non-compliance with the Social Security Act, acting arbitrarily in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, and violating the Enumeration Beyond Entry Memorandum of Understanding with Department of Homeland Security and USCIS.
- Harms American Citizens and Legal Residents: The same memo also warned of the consequences the 90-day pause will have on individuals relying on EBE, in an operational assessment that explained how “[p]ausing EBE will cause customer confusion, additional field office traffic, and potentially increase the risk of issuing multiple SSNs to the same person.” Reporting indicates that such a pause in the EBE program sends an estimated 60,000 to 75,000 additional people to SSA field offices per week at a time when the SSA has cut 12% of its workforce and shut down field offices across the country.
- Increased Costs: The March 24, 2025, memo warned that pausing EBE will increase costs to SSA, explaining that “[t]he FY2024 cost to issue a card through EBE is $8.00 versus $55.80 in a field office.” SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek’s approval of these additional expenses is confusing, given the March 3, 2025, press release wherein he stated, “The Social Security Administration continues to make good on President Trump’s promise to protect American taxpayers from unnecessary spending while continuing to ensure it delivers on its mission.”
- Lack of Transparency: SSA issued this pause without notifying the public or issuing any guidance related to the decision. There is no explanation for this new policy on the Social Security website. New and recent applicants who have applied for work authorization or become naturalized citizens and met all the corresponding legal requirements may simply never receive their Social Security number and card.
|
“Your role in destroying SSA under the guise of cost savings and fraud prevention is nothing more than another loosely coordinated attack on our democracy led by the Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). I can discern no legitimate reason for stopping the EBE program—it will only serve to make the Social Security system less efficient, less secure, and more expensive,” concluded Ranking Member Connolly. “However, the EBE pause does align with longstanding Republican efforts to reduce Social Security benefits, as well as your track record of abusing your power to target the President’s perceived enemies. President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Elon Musk have relentlessly repeated falsehoods about the Social Security program that benefits approximately 70 million people, and Trump Administration officials have made their hatred for legal immigrants painfully clear. Ongoing attacks on immigrants and attempts to make it harder for them to participate in civic life do nothing but interfere with SSA’s ability to effectively fulfill its obligations for all beneficiaries.”
Ranking Member Connolly urged SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek to immediately reinstate the EBE program as it existed prior to March 19, 2025. Ranking Member Connolly also requested the documents and information related to pausing the EBE program by April 30, 2025.
Click here to read the letter to SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek.
