Migrants' payments a windfall for U.S.?

MEXICO CITY — For the 14 years he worked as an undocumented migrant in the United States, Carmelo Rivera saw up to $30 deducted each week from the $300 to $500 he earned as a vineyard worker. The deductions were supposed to pay for his retirement.

But like millions of other Mexicans who worked under false Social Security numbers, he's unlikely ever to see a penny of it.

In fact, if a group of U.S. congressmen has its way, undocumented migrants would be permanently barred from ever seeking to reclaim tens of billions they paid into Social Security. Instead, the money will go to fund American citizens' retirements.

Despite some protests, few migrants and their governments appear to be fighting the issue, despite what's at stake: a little-known Social Security account called the "earnings suspense file," which grows at a rate of about $6 billion a year and now stands at about $376 billion.

The account is sort of a catchall for mismatched names and numbers but is funded mostly by undocumented migrants, many of whom don't know the money exists.

Some see it as the price of working in America.

"People work under made-up (Social Security) numbers because they don't have any choice," said Rivera, 34, of southern Oaxaca state. As for the lost funds — the only retirement savings for him and his wife — "that's just something you take in stride. It's part of the cost of the rules they have."

Many migrants are unaware they can get credit for past contributions, even if made under false numbers, if they later get legal residency and present receipts or pay stubs.

"It's not very common, and it is not necessarily very easy," said Mark Hinkle, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration in Washington. Juan Jose Nino Tejedor, who heads the migrant affairs office for the Mexican state of Veracruz, says he doesn't know of a single case.

Some migrants like Rivera are afraid of being punished if they admit they worked illegally. "We try to have as little contact with the authorities in the United States as possible," he said.

Hinkle says privacy rules bar his agency from reporting past visa violations to police. But some workers are using both false names and numbers, making it virtually impossible to ever prove a claim.