In the weeks since U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $ 1.9 billion COVID-19 relief package that includes direct deposits of up to $ 1,400 per person with Social Security recipients, social media posts claim that every adult and child living in the United States illegally may receive a stimulus test. This claim is untrue, as only those with valid Social Security numbers are eligible for payment under the March 2021 US Rescue Plan.
One Facebook post, seen here, shows an unidentified family of nine with ‘$ 1400’ typed over the faces of the two parents and seven children. The text on the photo reads: “Just slide across the border of Mexico. Never contributed a dam [sic] thing for this country. ”
Other iterations can be found here, here and here.
The U.S. rescue plan, the full text of which is available here, was signed by the president on March 11 (here) and is one of the largest economic stimulus measures in U.S. history. About 21% of the bill, $ 400 billion, is directed to one-time payments of $ 1,400 to eligible Americans (here).
Following the direct payments granted last year in the CARES Act and the Consolidated Credits Act in December, these third-round stimulus checks offer nearly 160 million U.S. households direct payments of $ 1,400 per person, helping individuals up to $ 75,000 per year and couples up to $ 150,000. Those who earn more but less than $ 80,000 per individual or $ 160,000 per couple will receive reduced amounts (here).
Although certain families with mixed immigration status are eligible for payments, the meme’s claim that every person and child living in the United States illegally receives a $ 1400 check is untrue. As with the previous round of payments, certain mixed-status households, such as families with one parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and one parent living illegally in the United States (here, here).
As reported here by the Washington Post, the latest stimulus bill does not penalize family members with an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) – someone who must file a tax return, even if they do not have a Social Security number, such as a dependent or spouse of a foreign visa holder for non-residents. Under the previous incentive package, mixed-status households were refused payment if the non-civilian spouse or parent filed a tax return with an ITIN.
Only the spouse with a social security number can receive a stimulus test (here, here). For example, a couple with mixed status, without children, would receive $ 1400 from this payment round if their combined annual income is less than $ 150,000.
In contrast, a couple consisting of two American citizens without children and earning the same annual income will receive $ 1400 each, or $ 2,800 in total, in this payment round.
Households without at least one family member with a social security number are not eligible for stimulus checks. For example, someone living in the United States illegally or a couple living in the United States illegally with or without children will not receive any assistance.
The family of nine described in the meme – two parents and seven children who ‘just slipped across the border in Mexico’ – would not be eligible for stimulus payments if they lived in the United States illegally.
Certain “qualifying aliens” with valid social security numbers for employment, such as participants in the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and H1-B visa holders, are eligible for payments (here). However, an undocumented single parent whose child is both a DACA recipient and a social security recipient is still not eligible for payment. (here). Even if the children were in the meme early childhood and were part of the DACA program, their parents, without the social security number, would not have been able to receive stimulus payments.
Legal permanent residents, or ‘green card’ holders, are another group of residents who are not citizens and who have social security numbers and are therefore eligible for payments (here). Further reading on who is considered a legal permanent resident is provided here by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Only if one of the parents appearing on social media was a U.S. citizen, a legal permanent resident, or a stranger with a Social Security qualifying resident would he or she be able to claim the seven children as dependents. In this case, the family would receive $ 1400 for the eligible adult and $ 1400 for each child.
In January, the Reuters Fact Check team unveiled social media messages here about stimulus controls and those living in the United States illegally.
VERDICT
Untrue. Individuals living illegally in the United States are not eligible for coronavirus relief.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.