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http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050410/news_mz1e10ruben.html
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Guy, that's an editorial. Not a source. Besides which what the editorial writer is saying is that SS does in fact benefit from the scenario described -- which is good, not bad.

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1377523/posts
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Now here you've done a better job. The URL is not the source, but the basis of it is a fact-checked article from the NYT (yes, I know, not reliable fact checking there).

But again, this is filled with marvelous news! It does support your claim that illegals are paying into the SS system and never applying for benefits. How can this be bad? This is going to feed your parents.

Looking further in the article . . . .

"The file has been mushrooming ever since: $189 billion worth of wages ended up recorded in the suspense file over the 1990's, two and a half times the amount of the 1980's.

In the current decade, the file is growing, on average, by more than $50 billion a year, generating $6 billion to $7 billion in Social Security tax revenue and about $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes.

In 2002 alone, the last year with figures released by the Social Security Administration, nine million W-2's with incorrect Social Security numbers landed in the suspense file, accounting for $56 billion in earnings, or about 1.5 percent of total reported wages. "

This is marvelous! How can one not see this is a windfall? If you erase it, then SS falls apart and old folks literally starve. These people are putting food in the mouths of older Americans.

An interesting excerpt from the article's middle:

"While it has been evident for years that illegal immigrants pay a variety of taxes, the extent of their contributions to Social Security is striking: the money added up to about 10 percent of last year's surplus - the difference between what the system currently receives in payroll taxes and what it doles out in pension benefits. Moreover, the money paid by illegal workers and their employers is factored into all the Social Security Administration's projections."

So this is even more powerfully supportive of the concept of their value. I had thought the optimal strategy was to impose a punishment for breaking the law and then after the punishment, getting them documented in order to collect tax revenue. But apparently this is already happening even before documentation. I suspect they still deserve to be punished (with a fine), but given the above generosity they are displaying one can make a case for them deserving a reward.

"Currently available for about $150 on street corners in just about any immigrant neighborhood in California, a typical fake ID package includes a green card and a Social Security card. It provides cover for employers, who, if asked, can plausibly assert that they believe all their workers are legal. It also means that workers must be paid by the book - with payroll tax deductions."

One wonders what more an employer should be required to look for to determine the job applicant is entitled to work. It is not the employer's responsibility to stop green card forgers on the street. He has a business to run. Law enforcement should be stopping counterfeiting of those documents.

In conclusion, you did have sources for the claim that these illegals were contributing so generously, without expectation of eventual benefits, which is what these sources say. I stand corrected in questioning if you had sources. You did and they say really encouraging things.