Illegal aliens commonly use stolen tax and Social Security documents to fraudulently establish eligibility to work in the United States. From 2012 to 2016, there were 39 million instances where names and Social Security numbers on W-2 employee tax forms did not match Social Security records.
So it was no surprise that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids at five Mississippi food-processing plants swept up hundreds of illegal aliens holding bogus Social Security numbers.
At least one of the companies knew its workers used fraudulent Social Security numbers, USA Today reported. Payroll records at Pearl River Foods in Carthage, Miss., revealed numerous employees had Social Security numbers that didn’t match the users’ names; several belonged to dead people.
Reportedly, some workers using stolen identities had been employed illegally for more than 10 years.
These workplace shenanigans – along with the very real economic loss and inconvenience suffered by victims of identity theft – could have been avoided (or at least alleviated) if the federal government did its job.
As David North of the Center for Immigration Studies observed: “Illegal aliens file tax returns using the Social Security number they have given to their employers; thus, their claims for their refunds and their W-2s match each other. But they do not match the government’s own Social Security records.
“All the IRS has to do is to compare the Social Security number on the 1040 tax form with the name in the Social Security records; if they don’t match, no refund.”
Congress could help out here, too, by requiring employers to use the government’s E-Verify system to properly vet job applicants for eligibility to work legally in this country.
Alas, partisan politics has stymied even basic accounting practices. Earlier this year, 46 House Democrats demanded that the Social Security Administration (SSA) not send Employer Correction Request Notices (“no-match letters”) to businesses where employee W-2 forms do not match SSA records.
Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., complained that, “Other than to instill fear, [no-match letters are] one more tool to drive the immigrant community into the shadows of society.” Garcia’s dubious assertion unhelpfully blurs the line between legal immigrants whose interests are protected by no-match letters and illegal aliens who engage in identity fraud.
The Trump administration has finally reversed the Obama administration’s suspension of SSA no-match letters. But fraud will persist as long as the IRS keeps sending money to illegal aliens who game the system with stolen Social Security numbers.
Counting tax refunds, Earned Income Tax Credits and the Additional Child Tax Credit, North conservatively estimates that more than $8 billion in undeserved payments go to illegal aliens each year. It’s enough to make Al Capone blush.
Bottom line, SSA is dropping the ball when it comes to keeping illegal aliens from fraudulently taking American jobs and fraudulently qualifying for public assistance. And the IRS is looking the other way. So who is watching the store for hardworking Americans who often go unemployed and don’t qualify for benefits?”