Trump says he kicked nearly 275,000 illegal immigrants off Social Security

President Trump said Thursday he made strides in preserving Social Security by rooting out fraud and abuse, including getting hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants off the program.

Mr. Trump, in remarks marking the 90th anniversary of Social Security, said that excluding illegal immigrants from receiving the benefits had removed nearly 275,000 from the system.

He also railed against Democrats for accusing him of gutting Social Security, and he said the retirement program was being “destroyed” under former President Joseph R. Biden and his Democrats.

“Under Biden, Social Security went down like nobody’s ever seen. It deteriorated. There’s never been anything like it. The four years of Biden were very, very destructive. It couldn’t have gone on much longer,” he said.

He added, “Biden never kicked anybody off. Everybody joined. And we’re carrying out historic deportations to remove many more illegals committing Social Security fraud. It’s a Social Security fraud that was taking place at levels that nobody’s ever seen. We cleared 12.4 million names listed in the Social Security database over 120 years of age. Think of that.”

The Social Security Act was signed into law in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. It aimed to help the economic insecurity felt by Americans, especially seniors.

“Almost 60 million American seniors rely on Social Security for peace of mind and a life of dignity and retirement,” Mr. Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office. “These Americans paid into the system, and they deserve leaders in Washington who are going to protect the benefits they’ve had and protect Social Security.”

Democrats have said the cuts made to the Social Security Administration’s workforce and the moves made for Social Security in his One Big Beautiful Bill will harm the program.

The president boasted that wait times are down while more seniors are being helped. Seniors also now have 24/7 access to their accounts.

Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano said the government had vastly improved its customer service under Mr. Trump.

“We are serving more people and delivering more than was ever delivered before in a manner with the highest possible quality, and we’ve just begun,” he said while standing next to Mr. Trump in the Oval Office.

Wait times have declined 23% while five times as many people have scheduled appointments compared with last year. The agency has handled 70% more calls than last year, lowered the average speed of answers by 80% and reduced disability backlogs by 26%, according to the White House.

“While Democrats flail and peddle lies about Social Security, President Trump is demonstrating his unbreakable commitment to protecting and strengthening this vital program for the nearly 72 million Americans who benefit from it,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said in a statement.

“By massively improving the customer service experience through technological improvements, preventing illegal aliens from accessing benefits, and delivering no taxes on Social Security through the One Big Beautiful Bill — President Trump has Made Social Security Great Again,” she said.