Fake News: One 'Illegal Refugee' Does NOT Get $3874 Per Month With The Federal Assistance Program

Fact Check

  • by: Alan Duke
Fake News: One 'Illegal Refugee' Does NOT Get $3874 Per Month With The Federal Assistance Program

Does one "illegal refugee" get $3874 each month from the Federal Assistance Program? No, that's not true: Refugees are allowed to apply for asylum in the United States, which means they are not illegal. If a refugee enters the United States illegally, without applying for refugee status, they would not qualify for federal assistance. A document shown in a meme claiming that one refugee would get $3874 per month has nothing to do with an "illegal refugee" or anyone in the United States. It is a statement from Canada's Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) listing payments and a loan for essential services for a legal refugee family of five. RAP covers the first four to six weeks after a refugee is legally admitted to Canada.

The false claim has circulated in a meme, including a post (archived here) shared on September 22, 2019 featuring a purported statement of federal assistance to a single "illegal refugee." Above the document, the text read:

THIS IS WHAT 1 ILLEGAL REFUGEE GETS WITH THE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $3874 PER MONTH !!!

This is what social media users saw:

Look closely at the image and you will see the Canadian flag at the top of the document. That shows this meme is not related to the United States. Next, look in the box near the top of the page where the name of the refugee is listed. It notes that the assistance is for a family of five -- not one, as claimed. Also, this is not a MONTHLY payment, but a one-time assistance check.

fake canadian immigrant.jpg

What is the "RESETTLEMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM"? This is from the Canadian government's website:

The Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) is a contribution program. It has two main components: income support and assistance for a range of immediate essential services.
Immediate and essential services are delivered by Service Provider Organizations (SPOs), generally within the first 4-6 weeks of a newcomer's arrival in Canada. Activities include the following:

  • meeting newcomers at the airport or final destination in Canada
  • providing temporary accommodation
  • providing basic orientation to Canada, life skills training and financial orientation
  • assisting in finding permanent accommodation
  • referring to other settlement programs

While there were many commenters under this post pointing out that it is a Canadian -- not American -- assistance program; it was not to an "illegal" refugee; it was for a family of five, and not just one person. But many of the commenters were outraged Americans who believed the claims were real:

  • This is crap! We have elderly that barely get anything by way of social security or any type of government benefits or assistance, veterans don't get this much, disabled don't get this much. This is completely wrong.

  • This is absolutely unamerican and completely disrespectful to the American citizens..

  • How horrible for the hard working AMERICANS.

  • This pisses me off so bad, I'm legitimately disabled and get $800 a month, I can't even get a vehicle so that I can go back to work, this is f--king rediculous!!!!!

There are many myths about the government assistance immigrants can get after entering the United States, legally or illegally. They are often shared through memes that are short on sourcing or truth. Lead Stories debunked several of them in a story titled "Fake News: Illegal Immigrants Do NOT Get 43% Of All Food Stamps, 95% of Los Angeles Murder Warrants, 66% Of California Births, 60% Of HUD Housing."

Want to inform others about the accuracy of this story?

See who is sharing it (it might even be your friends...) and leave the link in the comments.:


  Alan Duke

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke

About Us

International Fact-Checking Organization EFCSN Meta Third-Party Fact Checker

Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.
Spotted something? Let us know!.

Lead Stories is a:


WhatsApp Tipline

Have a tip or a question? Chat with our friendly robots on WhatsApp!

Add our number +1 (404) 655-4223, follow this link or scan the image below with your phone:

@leadstories

Subscribe to our newsletter

* indicates required

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Lead Stories LLC:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Most Read

Most Recent

Share your opinion