President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security is investigating California over allegations of providing federal benefits to illegal aliens at the taxpayer’s expense.
The department made the announcement on Monday.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles Field Office issued a Title 8 subpoena to the State of California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI),” the press release reads, noting that the CAPI program “provides benefits to aliens who are ineligible for Social Security benefits because of their immigration status.”
As a result, authorities will receive records — which include applications — from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services and investigate to see if illegal aliens received these federal benefits over the course of former President Joe Biden’s tenure.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that “radical left politicians in California prioritize illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens access to cash benefits.”
“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,” she said, issuing a stark warning to illegal immigrants receiving federal benefits in the Golden State and elsewhere.
“If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now,” she warned, making it clear that this investigation is just the beginning of their work to weed out the waste and corruption.
“The gravy train is over. While this subpoena focuses only on Los Angeles County – it is just the beginning,” Noem added.
This move follows a series of actions President Donald Trump’s administration has taken to stop taxpayer dollars from going to benefit illegal immigrants. While his administration is working to wipe up the Social Security Numbers that were given to illegal migrants by prior administrations, the U.S. Labor Department has vowed to carry out Trump’s executive orders — specifically, “Preventing Illegal Aliens from Obtaining Social Security Act Benefits” and “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders.”
In other words, the Labor Department is promising to revoke federal grant money from states that continue to grant unemployment benefits to illegal immigrants.
“Our nation’s unemployment benefits exist solely for workers who are eligible to receive them,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer wrote in part. “Unemployment benefits are not a handout for those in our country illegally.”
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Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom is under new federal scrutiny as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) opens an investigation into whether the state improperly funneled taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens.
The DHS probe, led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Los Angeles, focuses on the state’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI) — a 100 percent state-funded program designed to provide monthly benefits to non-citizens ineligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) due to their immigration status.
According to a Title 8 subpoena issued by HSI Los Angeles, federal officials are demanding records from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS), which administers the controversial program. Investigators are seeking documents from January 2021 to the present, including applicants’ names, dates of birth, immigration status, and proof of ineligibility for federal SSI payments.
“Radical left politicians in California prioritize illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens access to cash benefits,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in a statement Monday. “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 the current subpoena targets just Los Angeles County, Secretary Noem made clear the investigation could widen. “This is just the beginning,” she said.
The inquiry stems from growing concerns within the Trump administration that states like California may be violating federal law, specifically Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), by indirectly providing federal benefits to individuals ineligible under immigration law.
On April 15, President Trump signed the Memorandum Preventing Illegal Aliens from Obtaining Social Security Act Benefits, directing DHS and other federal agencies to investigate and enforce compliance. The move comes amid revelations that more than 2 million ineligible aliens were issued Social Security Numbers in fiscal year 2024, a figure the administration calls “staggering.”
CAPI was created in the aftermath of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, which barred most non-citizens from accessing federal SSI benefits. While California has defended the program as a state-funded safety net for elderly, blind, or disabled immigrants, critics argue that the system has been used to abuse public resources and attract illegal immigration.
According to the program’s guidelines, applicants must reside in California and prove they are ineligible for SSI based solely on immigration status. However, DHS is investigating whether illegal aliens received federal SSI funds in addition to CAPI — a violation that could carry serious civil or criminal penalties for the state and its administrators.
California officials have not yet commented on the subpoena or the broader investigation. Governor Newsom has long positioned himself as a national leader on immigration, frequently clashing with federal authorities over border enforcement and sanctuary policies.
But under President Trump’s second term, DHS is sending a clear message: states that disregard federal immigration law may now face legal consequences.
“Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS will not allow U.S. taxpayer dollars to be squandered on illegal aliens,” the department said in a statement.
As the investigation unfolds, more counties and agencies could face subpoenas, and Governor Newsom’s immigration policies may come under even greater federal pressure.
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