Migrants who entered the country illegally were given plane tickets, EBT cards, cell phones, and put up in luxury hotels.

Oct 31, 2026

Previously: Migrants who entered the country illegally were given plane tickets, EBT cards, cell phones, and put up in luxury hotels. [Distorted]: Joe says 'they were given' these things and does not say the Red Cross gave them. Each item has a small factual basis but is overstated: ICE gives some released migrants locked-down smartphones that only run a tracking app, and some cities or nonprofits paid for travel or hotels. But fact-checkers found the federal government does not buy migrants' plane tickets, and people who entered illegally are generally not eligible for SNAP benefits on EBT cards. Federal records showing migrants who crossed illegally routinely received government-paid flights and SNAP EBT benefits would prove this wrong.

Now: Migrants who entered the country illegally were given plane tickets, EBT cards, cell phones, and put up in luxury hotels. [Unverified]: The bundle combines different programs, places and immigration categories. ICE uses phone-based supervision, and some cities and charities provide travel or temporary accommodation. That does not establish that the same people received all four items or that EBT means federal SNAP. SNAP restrictions do not refute every local cash or food-card program. Without identified recipients, dates and programs, the full bundle remains unresolved.

The original rebuttal inserted a federal-program restriction that Joe did not specify and conflated EBT with SNAP.