No, SNAP benefits are not used mostly by immigrants

Approximately 42 One million Americans face losing food stamps this weekend Far-right influencers, Extremistsand Conspiracy theorists They are using the crisis to spread racist misinformation about who receives these benefits.

As a result of the government shutdown, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will no longer be funded effective November 1, according to a message on the website of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers the program. While this loss of benefits could be catastrophic for millions, it has not stopped the tide of misinformation. A number of conspiracy theorists and right-wing influencers claim that immigrants are the main beneficiaries of food stamps, while AI-generated videos on TikTok push racist stereotypes of black people demanding more benefits.

These claims simply do not match reality, since the majority of people receiving SNAP benefits are white Americans, according to the data. Collected by the US Department of Agriculture. The data also shows that deep red states like Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana are among the states with the highest percentage of those receiving food stamps.

“These narratives circulate to suggest that non-deserving groups receive the bulk of SNAP benefits, thus making the suspension of SNAP benefits seem like less of a crisis,” says Tracy Ruff, a political scientist at the University of Richmond. “The reality is that the vast majority of SNAP beneficiaries are people born in the United States and many of them live in families with children or are elderly or disabled. And among those who are able to work, most do.”

A graph posted by an influential far-right account under the name “The General” has reinforced the conspiracy theory, suggesting that the vast majority of people receiving benefits are non-white immigrants, with US residents Afghans, Somalis and Iraqis making up the top three supposed recipients. This chart, which was initially published in June on a website called Personal Finance Wizards, According to PolitiFact,completely fabricated. The USDA does not collect race for SNAP recipients beyond broad categories such as whites, African Americans, and Hispanics.

USDA data show that nearly 90 percent of SNAP recipients are U.S.-born citizens. 1.1% of beneficiaries are refugees and 3.3% are non-citizens.

The general’s post has been viewed 6.3 million times and was shared widely by others, including influential right-wing broadcaster Matt Walsh, who quoted the post on X and wrote: “We are importing the Third World and forcing the American working class to feed and shelter them at gunpoint. It is civilizational suicide.” Other posts that shared the infographic were also shared hundreds of thousands of times. X did not respond to a request for comment.