Immigrants aren’t paid to cross the border illegally

The federal government does not give migrants $2,000 every time they cross the border illegally, despite claims made by Joe Rogan on his podcast.

“Illegal immigrant explained how they get $2,000 each time they cross the border,” text on an Instagram reel said.

The post includes a video of Rogan from a January episode of his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” On it, he says he heard a man on a “Mexican radio station” in San Diego saying he got $8,000 from the federal government in one month for crossing the border four times.

The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection “do not provide financial assistance to undocumented families,” Customs and Border Protection told PolitiFact in an emailed statement.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, an immigration-rights advocacy group, told PolitiFact in an email that migrants do not receive money for crossing the border illegally.

“Any person who crosses the border more than once and is taken into custody each time would be subject to felony prosecution for illegal reentry and could be thrown into prison for over a year,” Reichlin-Melnick said.

People who cross the border unlawfully the first time can be fined and imprisoned for up to six months. People who cross the border illegally a second time can also be fined and imprisoned for up to two years.

Refugees, who had to flee their country to escape persecution and are in the U.S. legally, qualify for cash assistance from the federal government as a short-term benefit for the first year of arrival, Reichlin-Melnick said. This aid varies by family size, but is around a few hundred dollars per month per household to help buy food and shelter, he said; for example, a family of three could get up to $570.

Cuban and Haitian migrants who receive humanitarian parole also qualify  for the same benefits and cash assistance as refugees, Reichlin-Melnick said.

Most immigrants in the country illegally do not qualify for federal public benefits, according to the National Immigration Law Center, although there are exceptions for some Cuban and Haitian migrants.

PolitiFact has previously debunked claims that migrants in the U.S. illegally receive free flights, cellphones, prepaid debit cards and gift cards.

We messaged Rogan on his social media accounts and asked on what radio station he heard the claim, but received no response. 

We rate the claim that immigrants get $2,000 each time they cross the border illegally False.