Identity Theft and Illegal Employment: What a Major Investigation Reveals About the Crisis Harming American Citizens

More than a million Americans may unwittingly hold second jobs – because that work is being performed by an illegal alien using their stolen Social Security number. That is one of the startling findings from a December 2025 RealClearInvestigations exposé that documented the staggering scale of identity theft connected to illegal employment – and the devastating consequences for the American citizens whose identities are stolen. The investigation, conducted by reporter James Varney, found that federal and state governments bear significant responsibility for this harm because of their failure to mandate E-Verify, the primary tool available to prevent employment-related identity theft.

The Scale of the Problem

The numbers are staggering. In FY 2024, the Social Security Administration’s Inspector General received 78,588 allegations of Social Security number misuse. Between April 1 and September 30, 2025, the office received another 26,822 allegations.

Perhaps the most telling indicator is the rapid growth in the Social Security Administration’s “Earnings Suspense File,” which tracks wages paid to the fund that cannot be matched with a valid Social Security number. Between 1937 and the end of FY 2021, the accumulated total stood at $1.9 trillion. By the end of FY 2023, that figure had jumped more than 20 percent, to $2.3 trillion – an increase of $400 billion in just two years. The RealClearInvestigations report notes that while the file was once dominated by women whose maiden names did not match their married names, it has “skyrocketed in recent years largely because of illegal immigration.”

Real Victims, Real Consequences

The investigation detailed numerous cases of American citizens whose lives have been upended by identity theft connected to illegal employment. A Minnesota factory worker faced crushing tax bills because a thrice-deported illegal immigrant in Missouri had been working under his name for years. Iowa taxpayers learned that the superintendent of the Des Moines school system was an illegal immigrant facing a deportation order – a school district that, notably, does not use E-Verify to check applicants’ work eligibility.

A June 2025 ICE worksite enforcement operation at Glenn Valley Foods, a Nebraska meatpacking plant, uncovered approximately 70 illegal aliens who were using stolen Social Security numbers – leaving more than 100 American victims to face devastating financial, emotional, and legal consequences. The victims included:

• A disabled victim in Texas who was unable to work but struggled to receive Social Security disability payments because an illegal alien was fraudulently using their identity and earning wages

• A victim in Colorado whom the IRS ordered to repay more than $5,000 after their income was falsely increased due to wages earned by an identity thief

• A full-time nursing student from Missouri who lost college tuition assistance because it was fraudulently reported that they earned too much money

• A victim in Missouri who could not renew their driver’s license because the person using their identity had multiple unpaid traffic violations

• A healthcare provider in Pennsylvania who was forced to deny medically necessary prescriptions to a victim after his identity was stolen

• A victim in California who has been working for nearly 15 years to regain their identity and fix the financial damage

“There are real victims involved in this,” said Ron Mortensen, a retired Foreign Service Officer. “When someone gets your or your child’s Social Security number, that is no longer a victimless crime.”

In March 2025, 18 individuals were charged in Tampa with aggravated identity theft, misuse of Social Security numbers, and false statements related to immigration fraud. Studies show that identity theft can lead not just to financial pressures, but also emotional and physical stress.

E-Verify: An Effective Tool That Isn’t Being Mandated

Established in 1997, the federal E-Verify system allows employers to verify whether the information applicants provide on their Form I-9 is valid by checking it against various federal records. While not infallible – it confirms information but doesn’t confirm that the information belongs to the applicant – experts consider it an effective deterrent.

“E-Verify isn’t foolproof, but it’s actually pretty good for a government program,” according to Mark Kirkorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. “It doesn’t screen a large part of the illegal immigrants in the country, but you have to commit a felony to fool it.”

Despite this effectiveness, only nine states require E-Verify use for all larger private employers. California actively restricts its use, and Illinois discourages it. While E-Verify is mandatory for federal projects and contracts, in most states it remains voluntary. No federal mandate has ever come close to passing Congress.

Even without a mandate, E-Verify usage has grown significantly. In 2011, barely a quarter of a million employers nationwide used the system. By 2025, the number of employers with an E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding has topped 1.4 million. Florida conducted 2.4 million E-Verify checks in 2025, South Carolina more than half a million, and even California – which restricts its use – saw more than 2.6 million checks.

State Success Stories: E-Verify Mandates Have Not Harmed Economies

Opponents of E-Verify mandates, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (until 2021), have argued that requiring the system would harm state economies. The evidence from states that have mandated E-Verify tells a different story.

South Carolina mandated E-Verify in 2012 when its GDP was $21.4 billion and its unemployment rate stood at 9.9 percent. By 2024, South Carolina’s GDP had grown to $34.3 billion, and its unemployment rate had dropped to just 4.3 percent.

Georgia has required E-Verify for companies with 10 or more employees since 2013. Since the mandate took effect, Georgia’s GDP has doubled, and its August 2025 unemployment rate was 3.4 percent, according to Federal Reserve Bank figures.

Florida did not mandate E-Verify until 2023, when it became required for all businesses with 25 or more employees. The move came one year after an illegal immigrant using a fake identity to get a construction job wound up killing an off-duty Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy in a heavy machinery accident.

Legal Obstacles to Prosecution

Even as identity theft has grown, cracking down on it has become harder. A unanimous Supreme Court has twice limited the ways in which the Justice Department can charge people with aggravated identity theft. In 2009, the Court ruled that the person using stolen identification must have knowledge that the information had been stolen. A 2023 decision further narrowed the statute, holding that aggravated identity theft “is violated only when the misuse of another person’s means of identification is at the crux of what makes the underlying offense criminal.”

These rulings have made it more difficult to prosecute identity thieves, even as the problem has grown exponentially.

The Path Forward

The RealClearInvestigations exposé makes clear that employment-related identity theft is not a victimless crime, nor is it a minor issue. It is a crisis affecting hundreds of thousands – potentially millions – of American citizens who find their financial lives upended, their benefits denied, their credit destroyed, and their peace of mind shattered.

The solution is clear: mandatory E-Verify at the federal level. States that have mandated E-Verify have seen their economies flourish, not falter. The system is free for employers and, while not perfect, represents an effective deterrent against employment-related identity theft. Congress has the power to protect American citizens from this growing crisis. The question is whether it will act.