Immigrants Aren’t Stealing Your Benefits
Undocumented immigrants don’t receive most benefits, but they do help pay for yours
One of the most effective ploys by those attempting to vilify undocumented immigrants is to assert that those immigrants are stealing benefits from Americans. Donald Trump has deployed this falsehood on multiple occasions both in his speeches and—long before becoming President—on Twitter. It’s an insinuation quite divorced from reality.
Well into his Presidency, Trump has made such claims, such as when he addressed a crowd of supporters this past June:
“Those seeking admission into our country must be able to support themselves financially and should not use welfare for a period of at least five years.”
— speech in Cedar Rapids, MI, June 21, 2017
And again in July:
“We also believe that those seeking to immigrate into our country should be able to support themselves financially and should not be able to use welfare for themselves or the household for a period of at least…