Report contradicts Trump and reveals that immigrants account for less than 5% of social program fraud
According to a report, 95% of fraud losses, estimated at $5.5 billion, were committed by US citizens
As President Donald Trump intensifies his anti-immigration rhetoric and orders the withholding of federal funds for social programs in states governed by Democrats, new data undermines one of his administration's main arguments: the supposed responsibility of immigrants for fraud against public benefits.
A report A study by the Cato Institute, a libertarian-oriented research center hardly suspected of progressive sympathies, revealed that immigrants without US citizenship account for less than 5% of fraud against social programs in the United States. According to the data, between 2013 and 2024, 95% of fraud losses, estimated at $5.5 billion, were committed by US citizens, while non-citizens accounted for only 4.6%. The report, based on data from the US Sentencing Commission, also indicates that immigrants commit fraud 31% less than citizens and are 8% less likely to be convicted of this type of crime. Far from increasing, convictions for social program fraud among immigrants have failed 57% since 2015. Even so, the Trump administration has used isolated cases, such as the childcare fraud scandal linked to members of the Somali community in Minnesota, to justify mass immigration raids, restrictions on “Third World” immigration, the elimination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis, and new travel bans. The administration even announced it will withhold key funding for child and family assistance programs in five Democratic-led states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated, without presenting public evidence, that there are “suspicions” that benefits were given to ineligible individuals. The affected programs, such as the Child Care and Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Block Grant for Social Services directly benefit low-income children and families, many of them US citizens. Democratic governors and legislators have accused the White House of using the most vulnerable as a political weapon. “Our children should not be political pawns,” warned New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who did not rule out taking the federal government to court.From California, Governor Gavin Newsom's office was harsher, calling the president a “compulsive liar” and defending the state's record in combating fraud.