DOGE: Feds gave thousands of suspected terrorists SSNs, taxpayer-funded benefits

The Biden administration not only released a record number of known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) into the U.S. but also gave them Social Security numbers and taxpayer-funded welfare benefits, according to a new analysis by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

DOGE posted its latest findings of alleged government waste, fraud and abuse, fully funded by Congress, in a post on X.

“Under the Biden administration, it was routine for Border Patrol to admit aliens into the United States with no legal status and minimal screening,” DOGE said. It’s referring to the more than 14 million illegal border crossers reported under the Biden administration, including more than two million who evaded detection, The Center Square first reported.

They include millions flown to the U.S. on international flights paid for by taxpayers through parole programs created by the administration that judges ruled were illegal in lawsuits filed by states. Among them are more than one million from Venezuela, including members of the violent terrorist organization Tren de Aragua, who under the Biden administration had expanded into at least 22 states where crimes were reported, The Center Square exclusively reported.

Under the Biden administration, Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers released inadmissible illegal foreign nationals into the U.S. instead of processing them for removal. Among them were “a subset of 6.3k individuals paroled into the United States since 2023 on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center watchlist or with criminal records,” DOGE said.

It’s referring to the Terrorist Screening Dataset, the federal government’s database that contains sensitive information on terrorist identities. The TSDS originated as a consolidated terrorist watchlist to hold information on known or suspected terrorists. Over the past decade, it evolved “to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals,” CBP has explained.

Under the Trump administration, “These paroles have since been terminated with immediate effect,” DOGE said, referring to more than a dozen parole programs House Republicans identified as illegal.

“Despite having no other legal status, paroled aliens” under the Biden administration were given work authorization and received Social Security numbers. Of the 6,300 paroled illegal foreign nationals with criminal or terrorist records, all given Social Security numbers, many received federal welfare benefits, DOGE said.

Of them, 905 received a combined $276,000 in Medicaid funds, including four on the terrorist watchlist; 41 collected a combined $42,000 in Unemployment Insurance; 22 received a combined $280,000 in federal student loans; 409 received a net combined total of $751,000 in 2024 tax refunds; “several (final number TBD) received SNAP (food stamp) benefits,” DOGE said. More information is expected.

The Trump administration has terminated Biden policies and is actively working to arrest and remove the most violent illegal foreign nationals, including KSTs.

Under the Biden administration, the greatest number of KSTs were apprehended in U.S. history of 1,903, The Center Square exclusively reported. The majority, 64%, totaling 1,216, were apprehended at the northern border coming from Canada between fiscal years 2021-2024, according to CBP data.

A record 687 KSTs were reported at the southwest border over the same time period, The Center Square reported.

For years, The Center Square has reported on national security threats at the northern border as record numbers of illegal border crossers were reported there under the Biden administration. Because there historically have been far fewer Border Patrol agents in the field, less technological surveillance and a lack of operational control at the northern border for decades, combined with what Republicans say were national security threats posed by Canadian policies under the Trudeau administration, among other factors, the number of KSTs who’ve illegally entered from Canada between ports of entry is unknown, border officials have told The Center Square. Unlike the southwest border, where agents in the field can track illegal entry and report gotaways, no comparable capability exists at the northern border, where one agent may be responsible for 500 miles.

Islamic terrorist incidents also increased under the Biden administration, according to several reports, as a majority of Americans polled say terrorism dangers increased under his watch, The Center Square reported.