() The Department of Homeland Security is investigating a California state-funded program that assists disabled migrant residents, alleging it provided Supplemental Security Income benefits to immigrants who entered the United States illegally and whom federal officials say were not entitled to receive financial assistance.

DHS sent a subpoena to the State of California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants’ Los Angeles field office, ordering that it hand over records relating to SSI payments made to migrants since 2021. The agency said that under the leadership of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, it will not allow U.S. taxpayer dollars to be “squandered” on migrants.

A DHS news release did not specify how much financial assistance was provided to immigrants who benefited from CAPI between 2021 and the current time.

“Radical left politicians in California prioritize illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens access to cash benefits,” Noem said in a statement issued by DHS. “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.

“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.”

What is CAPI?

According to its website, CAPI is a program that is 100% state-funded and is designed to provide monthly cash benefits to aged, blind and disabled noncitizens who were ineligible to receive SSI benefits solely due to their immigration status.

The state-run program provides migrants with benefits that are equivalent to the amount of money they would receive from Social Security if they were eligible, the agency said. The recipients of the benefits are eligible to receive medical benefits, assistance to purchase food and help with housing costs but must apply for each benefit separately.

The Public Policy Institute of California reports that about 1.1 million people in California receive SSI and State Supplementary Payment monthly grants. About 40% of the recipients are 65 or younger. A spokesperson for the California Department of Social Services, which oversees CAPI, said that during fiscal year 2024-2025, CASI served 16,556 people.

A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom told on Monday that DSS would respond on behalf of Newsom’s administration.

The DSS spokesperson told that the program is not generally available to undocumented California residents. The program was created in 1988 by then-Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican, as a state version of the federal SSI program.

CASI funds are allocated by counties. The spokesperson directed to Los Angeles County for further comment but said that a Ninth Circuit Court ruling holds blanket Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoenas invalid.

A Los Angeles County spokesperson said Monday that ‘s request for comment had been passed on to the county’s executive leadership.

Trump administration eliminated Social Security for migrants

The subpoena is demanding that CAPI provide DHS officials with records, including the applicants’ names and date of birth, copies of applications for SSI benefits, the immigration status of applicants, proof of ineligibility for SSI benefits from the Social Security Administration and affidavits relating to the application for benefits.

Homeland Security officials said that the investigation came after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that prevents immigrants who entered the country illegally from receiving SSA benefits. Officials said the memo was signed to stop incentivizing illegal immigration and to protect U.S. taxpayers’ dollars.

The memorandum directs DHS and several other federal officials, including the attorney general, to ensure that “ineligible illegal aliens” do not receive funds from Social Security programs.

It also prioritizes civil or criminal enforcement against states or municipalities that violate a portion of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.

Are noncitizens eligible for SSI benefits?

Immigrants who do not have legal status as U.S. residents became ineligible to receive Social Security benefits due to the Welfare Reform Act of 1996.

Under the Act, people who received SSI benefits before 1996 are no longer eligible. The Los Angeles Times reported that a small number of people who live in California are eligible to receive benefits from CAPI if they are low-income noncitizens who meet the immigration status criteria that were put into place in 1996.

DHS officials said that more than 2 million immigrants who entered the country illegally received a Social Security number in fiscal year 2024 alone.

The Social Security Administration reports that, in general, only noncitizens who are authorized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to work in the country are eligible to receive Social Security numbers.

A 2024 analysis conducted by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showed that migrants in the U.S. illegally paid $96.7 billion into federal, state and local taxes in 2022.

Migrant employees who have been issued work permits also paid $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes and $6.4 billion in Medicare taxes during the same year, although, in most cases, those undocumented workers are not eligible to receive benefits from federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration.