Heinrich, lawmakers: "Field offices provide vital services to Social Security recipients, and beneficiaries need the opportunity to seek assistance from SSA in person…Closing any of these field offices will make it harder for individuals to access their benefits"

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined over 100 congressional Democrats in sending a letter to Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) Leland Dudek to demand that he keep New Mexico's Social Security field offices open. 

Multiple reports have revealed that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) directed SSA to close field offices across the country — only to reverse course after public backlash and deny the plans altogether. Given the lack of transparency surrounding the status of field office operations nationwide, the lawmakers pressed Dudek to ensure that DOGE does not close the offices that so many Social Security beneficiaries rely on for services and assistance.

Approximately 170,000 Americans visit a Social Security field office for assistance with Social Security benefits each day. In New Mexico, there are 10 Social Security field offices: Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Gallup, Clovis, Las Cruces, Farmington, Hobbs, and Las Vegas. Musk's DOGE has threatened to close dozens of these offices across the country as part of its attack on the SSA.

Most recent data indicate that approximately 468,030 beneficiaries living in New Mexico receive "Old-Age (retirement), Survivors, and Disability Insurance" (OASDI) from the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration serves an additional 55,319 low-income "aged, blind, or disabled" beneficiaries in New Mexico that receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

"[B]eneficiaries need the opportunity to seek assistance from SSA in person…Closing any of these field offices will make it harder for individuals to access their benefits." 

The lawmakers include a list of every SSA field office across the country and press Dudek to commit to keeping every single one of them open. 

 The full text of the letter can be read here.