Social Security Administration: Actions Taken to Strengthen Procedures for Issuing Social Security Numbers to Noncitizens, but Some Weaknesses Remain;Report to the Congress

摘要

In 2002, the Social Security Administration (SSA) issued nearly 6 million new Social Security numbers (SSNs), of which 1.3 million were issued to noncitizens. Despite its narrowly intended purpose, the SSN has in practice become the national identifier. SSNs are key pieces of information in creating false identities, underscoring the importance of issuing SSNs only to those eligible for them and of protecting those already assigned to individuals. The flow of noncitizens into the United States and the accompanying number of SSNs issued to them over the last several years add to the importance of having sound practices to avoid issuing SSNs to those who do not qualify for them. The Subcommittee Chairman asked GAO to describe and assess SSA's key initiatives to ensure the appropriate issuance of SSNs to noncitizens and identify vulnerabilities to error or fraud SSA has not yet addressed. GAO recommends that SSA strengthen the integrity of its enumeration policies and procedures by taking actions such as reviewing field compliance with verification requirements for enumerating noncitizens. In its response to GAO's draft report, SSA agreed with GAO's recommendations and provided information on planned and current actions to address them.