Immigration Corner | Can I get social security after deportation?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

If you were an LPR (legal permanent resident) who worked in the USA and is entitled to social security because USA collected money from your cheque, can the USA stop your social security if you are deported and cannot go back to the USA?

Please explain.

Thank you in advance for your help.

T

Dear T,

The short answer is yes. With very few exceptions and to see if any exception applies, a removed person should contact the United States Social Security Administration.

Every month, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) of the removal from the United States of persons who were holders of a social security number. Included in that notification is the section of the immigration law that the individual was charged with violating and subsequently causing their removal. Depending on the section(s) violated, the SSA determines whether to terminate benefits or to deny a future application for benefits once the removed person applies.

It matters not that an individual may have contributed to the social security scheme, they forfeit the right to any benefit if they were removed under any of the relevant provisions.

Please remember that all the agencies to which you referred are part of the United States government and they share information that complies with the laws of the United States.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq, is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator, and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com