Mark Lamb, sheriff of Arizona’s Pinal County, has campaigned for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination on the promise to “secure the border.” He’s posted short videos on X about what he calls “truth bombs,” mostly about immigration.
When migrants cross the U.S. border illegally, “They’re being given a cellphone, a plane ticket to wherever they wanna go in this country … and a $5,000 visa card,” Lamb said in a Dec. 5 video. “We have our government giving people who came into this country illegally $5,000 gift cards. That’s the truth, folks.”
Lamb tweaked his message when he repeated the claim during a Dec. 7 interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters.
“The way that they’re keeping this away from the American people is they are giving money to nongovernmental organizations who swoop in as soon as they’re processed, and they’re sending them off on an airplane to wherever they wanna go, giving them a phone and giving them Visa cards up to $5,000,” Lamb said. He added later that the migrants “go directly to the ATMs after that and start pulling money out.”
We’ve previously fact-checked claims about immigrants getting cellphones and free flights. We’ve also checked claims about migrants getting debit cards or monthly checks from the government.
We asked Lamb for his evidence that migrants are getting $5,000 gift cards from the government or nonprofit organizations, but he did not respond.
On Fox News, Lamb said his information “comes from very solid sources, from multiple sources.”
When Watters asked Lamb to name these sources, Lamb said, “I get this information from sources that are right inside of there. Including guys that work with Border Patrol who are fed up with what their government is doing.”
Both the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection told PolitiFact they do not financially assist people who cross the border illegally. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which gives money to nonprofit organizations that support immigrants, said that money cannot be used to purchase gift cards or prepaid debit cards.
We reached out to nonprofit organizations aiding immigrants that have received government funding, and representatives from five of them said the organizations do not provide $5,000 gift cards to migrants.
Two FEMA programs provide federal funding to nonprofit organizations supporting immigrants: the Emergency Food and Shelter Program – Humanitarian Relief, and the Shelter and Services Program. Funding also goes to local governments.
In fiscal year 2019, Congress authorized funding from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program for nonprofit organizations supporting migrants encountered by the Department of Homeland Security. A national board, which awards funding to organizations, gave around $400 million in fiscal year 2023.
The Shelter and Services Program began in fiscal year 2023 and awarded around $380 million in funding.
Both programs list allowable expenses for which nonprofits can receive funding or reimbursement. Beds, linens, food and first-aid supplies are listed; gift cards and prepaid debit cards are not.
“Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston does not provide Visa gift cards in this amount to immigrants,” said Betsy Ballard, the organization’s communications director.
Ballard said the organization sometimes provides $25 gift cards to clients, including migrants, to cover “immediate needs often related to a crisis situation, such as gas or food,” but private donations fund those cards.
Kate Clark, senior director of immigration services for Jewish Family Service of San Diego, which manages the San Diego Rapid Response Network Fund, said asylum seekers might get “travel cash assistance through private funders,” but not from government funding. And the cash assistance is neither $5,000 nor delivered as a gift card. How much people get depends on how long they’ve traveled and how big their families are, Clark said. One person might get $10 for an eight-hour travel day; a four-person family might get $100.
Our ruling
Lamb said, “We have our government giving people who came into this country illegally $5,000 gift cards.”
Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection said they do not financially assist people who illegally cross the U.S. border.
Lamb also said the gift cards come from government-funded nonprofit organizations. FEMA, which directs the two federal funding programs for nonprofits that assist migrants, said grant funding cannot be spent on gift cards or prepaid debit cards. And five migrant-aiding nonprofit organizations said they do not provide $5,000 gift cards.
At PolitiFact, the burden of proof is on the person making the claim. Lamb didn’t provide evidence to back up his statement, either when questioned publicly or when asked by PolitiFact.
We rate the claim False.
