SALON

Thursday, Apr 4, 2013 7:20 PM UTC

Is Obama giving food stamps to Mexicans?

Two Republican senators and Fox News think so, but spoiler alert: Not really

By

Topics: Immigration, Food Stamps,

Is Obama giving food stamps to Mexicans? (Credit: Graphic design via Shutterstock/Salon)

If you were to design the Platonic Ideal of a right-wing meme in the Obama era, it might go something like this: “The Obama administration has entered into an agreement with the government of Mexico to give food stamps to Mexican immigrants … the second you arrive here from Mexico.”

Food stamps! For immigrants — possibly illegal ones! — from Mexico! It’s a veritable orchestra of dog whistles. That was Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson speaking with Laura Ingraham Tuesday, but he’s hardly alone. Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe told NewsMax this week of undocumented immigrants, “As long as we supply their demand here in this country, they’re going to figure out a way to get through. And I’m talking about with the food stamps.”

“In Mexico, there is no welfare. No food stamps. Now, a lot of them — Mexicans — want to come here,” Fox News host Bill O’Reilly said Monday. (Mexico actually has an expansive welfare state, including universal healthcare rights, social security and food assistance programs, though actual access is substantially lower than what’s technically on the books.)

Brian Kilmeade brought the outrage early one morning last month to Fox and Friends, noting that “while the sequester has hit and furloughs are going to happen, the USDA is promoting food stamps in Mexico.” Co-host Steve Doocy chimed in: “What a good reason to come to the United States — they get food stamps.”

So is the Obama administration luring immigrants to the U.S. with the promise of a cushy $33.35 a week in food assistance? The short answer is no. The long answer is that the program was actually started by Bush and that one has to be in the country legally for five years before even qualifying for food stamps.

But first back to the myth. No one has done more to advance it than Sen. Jeff Sessions, a leading immigration hard-liner in the Senate, who began hectoring the USDA last summer for more information on the program.

“It has become increasingly clear that the mission of the food stamp program has moved from targeted welfare assistance for those in need into an aggressive drive to expand enrollment regardless of need,” Sessions wrote to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in July of last year, suggesting the administration was “pressuring” Mexican immigrants to join the rolls.

Naturally, conservative media took the ball and ran with it. The Drudge Report devoted its big banner to the headline: “US Partners with Mexico to Boost Food Stamps Rolls.” Fox News and conservative blogs covered the scandal extensively for several months as Sessions and Vilsack exchanged more letters, but the issue eventually died out late last year.

That is, until immigration came back on the agenda this year. In mid-March, Sessions tried to defund “this controversial promotion campaign,” but Democrats blocked the move on Sessions’ Budget Committee. Now, conservatives can attack not only the program, but Democrats for defending it.

So what’s actually going on here?

Here’s what Tucker Carlson et al. get right: The USDA provides information about enrolling in the program at Mexican consulates. Here’s what they get wrong: everything else.

First of all, the program was actually started by George W. Bush in 2004, not Obama. Here’s then-Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announcing the new program in July of 2004:

Many Mexican Americans and Mexican nationals working within the United States have limited awareness of eligibility for Food Stamps and other nutrition programs such as Women, Infants and Children program and school meals. Additional barriers such as the language heightens the need for specialized outreach. The objectives under this agreement include new partnerships, communications outreach in both English and Spanish, and other activities to educate eligible populations.

Secondly, the program doesn’t actually provide food stamps to immigrants — that too was a product of a Bush-era Farm Bill — but merely information. And it does this not in Mexico, as some claim, but at the country’s 45 consulates across the U.S., which Veneman called “an ideal network to help with outreach for USDA nutrition programs.”

What this entails is educating consulate staff about the program (hence binational meetings on the program) and making sure brochure racks are adequately supplied with literature on the program, a USDA official, who asked not to be named because of the political delicacy of the issue, told Salon. The USDA does exactly the same thing with local charities, faith organizations and other places they might reach vulnerable populations, the official said.

Third, you can’t even qualify for food stamps as a non-citizen until you’ve been in the country legally for five years. “Undocumented workers are in no way eligible,” Melissa Boteach, who studies poverty at the Center for American Progress, told Salon.

Indeed, official USDA guidance notes, “SNAP eligibility has never been extended to undocumented non-citizens.” An immigrant hoping to take advantage of American food stamps would have to get a green card, move here, wait five years, and then cash in. It’s not exactly a get-rich-quick scheme.

There are some exceptions for children and the infirm, but fewer than 4 percent of food stamp users are non-citizen legal immigrants.

Why would the U.S. want to educate Mexican-Americans about nutrition assistance? Because Latinos have disproportionately high hunger rates.

Of course, attacks on food stamps are nothing new — Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget slashed the food assistance program, for instance. Ironically, Boteach noted, “the entire 10 year cost of the Ryan budget cuts to SNAP could be avoided by closing the tax loophole that covers corporate meals and entertainment.”

Alex Seitz-Wald

Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald. More Alex Seitz-Wald.

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

7 motorist-friendly camping sites

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Sponsored Post

  • White River National Forest via Lower Crystal Lake, Colorado
    For those OK with the mainstream, White River Forest welcomes more than 10 million visitors a year, making it the most-visited recreation forest in the nation. But don’t hate it for being beautiful; it’s got substance, too. The forest boasts 8 wilderness areas, 2,500 miles of trail, 1,900 miles of winding service system roads, and 12 ski resorts (should your snow shredders fit the trunk space). If ice isn’t your thing: take the tire-friendly Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway — 82 miles connecting the towns of Meeker and Yampa, half of which is unpaved for you road rebels.
    fs.usda.gov/whiteriveryou


    Image credit: Getty

  • Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest via Noontootla Creek, Georgia
    Boasting 10 wildernesses, 430 miles of trail and 1,367 miles of trout-filled stream, this Georgia forest is hailed as a camper’s paradise. Try driving the Ridge and Valley Scenic Byway, which saw Civil War battles fought. If the tall peaks make your engine tremble, opt for the relatively flat Oconee National Forest, which offers smaller hills and an easy trail to the ghost town of Scull Shoals. Scaredy-cats can opt for John’s Mountain Overlook, which leads to twin waterfalls for the sensitive sightseer in you.
    fs.usda.gov/conf


    Image credit: flickr/chattoconeenf

  • Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area via Green Road, Michigan
    The only national forest in Lower Michigan, the Huron-Mainstee spans nearly 1 million acres of public land. Outside the requisite lush habitat for fish and wildlife on display, the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area is among the biggest hooks for visitors: offering beach camping with shores pounded by big, cerulean surf. Splash in some rum and you just might think you were in the Caribbean.
    fs.usda.gov/hmnf


    Image credit: umich.edu

  • Canaan Mountain via Backcountry Canaan Loop Road, West Virginia
    A favorite hailed by outdoorsman and author Johnny Molloy as some of the best high-country car camping sites anywhere in the country, you don’t have to go far to get away. Travel 20 miles west of Dolly Sods (among the busiest in the East) to find the Canaan Backcountry (for more quiet and peace). Those willing to leave the car for a bit and foot it would be remiss to neglect day-hiking the White Rim Rocks, Table Rock Overlook, or the rim at Blackwater River Gorge.
    fs.usda.gov/mnf


    Image credit: Getty

  • Mt. Rogers NRA via Hurricane Creek Road, North Carolina
    Most know it as the highest country they’ll see from North Carolina to New Hampshire. What they may not know? Car campers can get the same grand experience for less hassle. Drop the 50-pound backpacks and take the highway to the high country by stopping anywhere on the twisting (hence the name) Hurricane Road for access to a 15-mile loop that boasts the best of the grassy balds. It’s the road less travelled, and the high one, at that.
    fs.usda.gov/gwj


    Image credit: wikipedia.org

  • Long Key State Park via the Overseas Highway, Florida
    Hiking can get old; sometimes you’d rather paddle. For a weekend getaway of the coastal variety and quieter version of the Florida Keys that’s no less luxe, stick your head in the sand (and ocean, if snorkeling’s your thing) at any of Long Key’s 60 sites. Canoes and kayaks are aplenty, as are the hot showers and electric power source amenities. Think of it as the getaway from the typical getaway.
    floridastateparks.org/longkey/default.cfm


    Image credit: floridastateparks.org

  • Grand Canyon National Park via Crazy Jug Point, Arizona
    You didn’t think we’d neglect one of the world’s most famous national parks, did you? Nor would we dare lead you astray with one of the busiest parts of the park. With the Colorado River still within view of this cliff-edge site, Crazy Jug is a carside camper’s refuge from the troops of tourists. Find easy access to the Bill Hall Trail less than a mile from camp, and descend to get a peek at the volcanic Mt. Trumbull. (Fear not: It’s about as active as your typical lazy Sunday in front of the tube, if not more peaceful.)
    fs.usda.gov/kaibab


    Image credit: flickr/Irish Typepad

  • As the go-to (weekend) getaway car for fiscally conscious field trips with friends, the 2013 MINI Convertible is your campground racer of choice, allowing you and up to three of your co-pilots to take in all the beauty of nature high and low. And with a fuel efficiency that won’t leave you in the latter, you won’t have to worry about being left stranded (or awkwardly asking to go halfsies on gas expenses).


    Image credit: miniusa.com

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Related Videos

Comments

 20 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
358 points359 points | 18 comments
vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
219 points220 points | 26 comments
vote
Machiavelli doesn’t belong to the 1 percent | "The Prince" is oft-quoted on Wall Street, but its author was a hero of the working class who despised elites
88 points89 points | 33 comments
vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
56 points57 points | 7 comments
vote
Yes, there is a better search engine (1998)
59 points60 points | 13 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Joker": Laughing at life's deepest sorrows