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GerOttman ⚠ What the evidence shows on illegal access or misuse
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), for FY2023 about 11.7% (≈ $10.5 billion) of all SNAP benefit payments were “improper” (meaning wrong amount or should not have been made) — not necessarily all fraud, but these are payments that should not have been made under program rules.
On the question “Are undocumented immigrants dominating SNAP usage or receiving large shares of benefits illegally?” the fact-checkers say no: for example, Snopes found that undocumented immigrants are not eligible to receive these benefits in most cases.
Research indicates higher usage of welfare by immigrant-headed households compared to native-born headed ones, but that is legal usage (among those eligible) and households may include U.S. citizen children.
On actual fraud: usage of benefits by ineligible persons (including those with ineligible immigration status) is possible in some cases, but there is no strong evidence that non-citizens systematically access SNAP illegally in large numbers. The main issues with improper payments have more to do with administrative errors, eligibility determination mistakes, trafficking (selling benefits for cash), identity fraud, etc.
