Black Woman Born In U.S. and Battling Cancer Has Social Security Benefits Revoked After Federal Agency Says She Is ‘Not Lawfully Present’ In the Country
A Texas woman and U.S. native who has spent years battling severe diseases is fighting to get her social benefits back from federal officials who removed them after challenging her citizenship.
Ramona Rakestraw was born in 1966 in Dallas County, Texas.
The 59-year-old was stricken with kidney disease at age 28. She received a transplant, but in 2024, she was diagnosed with cancer.
She’s enrolled in Medicare Part B and has been receiving Supplementary Security Income (SSI) for years to support her through her illnesses, according to KDFW.
SSI benefits are distributed to people with disabilities or older adults who have little to no streams of income and no financial resources to fall back on.
In October 2025, both her SSI and Medicare benefits were halted, and she was told her immigration status was under review.
Although Rakestraw was born in the U.S. and has never once traveled or lived outside the country, federal officials still raised questions about her legal status.
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“I am shocked,” Rakestraw said. “They told me my immigrant status was being questioned, and so I said, ‘I’m not an immigrant.’”
Her Medicare coverage was later restored, but her SSI benefits were not.
Rakestraw took her identification and birth certificate to her local Social Security Office to clear up the issue.
She later received a letter from the federal agency stating: “We cannot pay you benefits because you are not lawfully present in the U.S.”
“That’s my income, my whole income,” she said.
It’s unclear what prompted the immigration review and the decision to withhold Rakestraw’s benefits. The Social Security Administration has not released further details, citing privacy concerns.
From the time a recipient’s benefits are denied, they have 60 days to appeal the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) decision. Individuals must update their citizenship status, and then the case is reviewed by someone who did not suspend or revoke the benefits.
Rakestraw said she’s completed all the necessary paperwork, filed her appeal and is now awaiting further contact from the SSA.
“I have to just take it a day at a time,” Rakestraw said.
Rakestraw’s case reflects a wider upheaval happening within the SSA.
Last year, the Trump administration cut off the Social Security benefits of a man who became a naturalized U.S. citizen shortly before President Donald Trump took office, according to The Bulwark. He received a letter with the exact phrasing Rakestraw’s letter had: “We cannot pay you benefits because you are not lawfully present in the U.S.”
Shortly after, the Social Security administration canceled the Social Security numbers of thousands of immigrants granted temporary legal status in the U.S. at the direction of the White House.
The decision strips these individuals of their ability to work and receive pay or social benefits and forces financial institutions to cut off access and services.