Government run social programs are not socialism in the classical or economical sense. Public libraries, fire departments, etc aren't either. Nobody wants to get rid of that.
The socialism that those are concerned about are the gov't seizing the means of production, state ownership of factories, banks, etc....suppressed private enterprise.
This is the stuff we are hearing from folks like Mamdani's housing bitch, etc.
Conflating them is similar to what the left does with legal and illegal immigration.
When referring to the political definition of socialism, you are correct. I was talking about social services. These are often provided by government agencies, individuals, and various organizations. Lots of people claim they want to do away with social services. To say nobody wants to get rid of these is not correct. Many of these folks are the same people who complain about taxes, government fees and levies, which is how social services are funded.
I was not conflating the various interpretations of socialism. In what way does the left attempt to conflate legal and illegal immigration?



What is there to conflate? The core difference between legal or illegal immigrant is simple: Legal immigrant = documented immigrant verses illegal immigrant = undocumented immigrant.
illegal immigrantUndocumented immigrants, illegal immigrants are aliens who enter or remain in a country unlawfully. The category of “illegal immigrant” contrasts with “legal” or “documented” immigrants who enter a country through the proper channels. Under United States immigration law, a person can become an illegal immigrant by entering the country without an immigration inspection, entering the country fraudulently, or entering the country with a valid visa but remaining after the expiration of the visa.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/illegal_immigrant The problem arises when someone (Trump) tries to change the constitution to suit their immigration agenda.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship to every child born “within the jurisdiction of the United States.”1 The 1898 Supreme Court case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark established an important precedent in its interpretation of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in that it cemented birthright citizenship for children of all immigrants.
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/birthright-citizenship-united-states/