Three Big Lies About Immigrants and Fraud, with Sonya Schwartz
From the first moments of his first campaign for president, Donald Trump has accused immigrants of fraudulently obtaining public benefits, immigration protections, and even votes. Does any of this hold up under scrutiny?
We asked Sonya Schwartz, who knows more than just about anyone about the complex intersection of immigration, public benefits, and voting laws. She has the data to debunk all three of MAGA’s big lies about immigrants and fraud, and how this scapegoating leads to policies that harm all of us – from millions of families losing food assistance to voter ID laws that would block U.S. citizens from the polls. Meanwhile, some of the country’s worst actual fraudsters are getting pardoned instead of prosecuted.
In This Episode
- Introduction to Sonya Schwartz
- The slanderous narrative about immigrants committing fraud
- Allegations of welfare fraud
- Trump calls a whole community “garbage”
- The State Dept. bans immigration from 75 countries
- Which immigrants are actually eligible for which public benefits?
- Lightning round Q&A on undocumented immigrants and welfare
- U.S. citizens are going hungry after Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”
- Cutting off temporary support for refugees
- Who are the real perpetrators of public benefits fraud?
- Allegations of voter fraud
- What would happen if the SAVE Act passed?
- Allegations of immigration fraud
- Gérard Depardieu and sham marriages
- Trump’s lenience with actual fraudsters
- What is to be done?
- Conclusion
Learn More
Amanda, Claire, and Doug express their own personal opinions on The Melting Pod. This episode was produced by Michael Palmer (palmer.media). Read more about the topics in this episode:
What to know about Nick Shirley, the YouTuber alleging day care fraud in Minnesota
Right-Wing YouTuber Behind Viral Minnesota Fraud Video Has Long Anti-Immigrant History
Trump repeats claim of $19 billion in Minnesota fraud. Here's what the numbers show.
When a president calls human beings ‘garbage’
Questions and Answers About the 75-Country Visa Ban Lawsuit
At least 3.5 million people have lost food stamp access as Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ cuts take effect, analysis finds
Brett Favre and the Mississippi welfare case explained
Judge blocks feds from using immigration database to check voter eligibility
Depardieu in English, In Weir's 'Green Card'
Trump DOJ Dropped 23,000 Criminal Investigations in Shift to Immigration
The Main Beneficiaries of Trump's Pardons? White-Collar Criminals Like Him
Give More
Want to help build a more sane and humane immigration system? Support hardworking organizations like these:
National
Working to ensure the U.S. keeps its promise to our Afghan allies
The country’s largest membership organization of asylum seekers, working together for change
Organizing and advocating for racial, social and economic justice
Providing humanitarian, legal, and social services
Strategic litigation and advocacy to uphold the rights of people seeking safety
Immigrant justice through litigation and storytelling
Local
Legal and humanitarian support to refugees, deportees, and other migrants in the U.S. and Tijuana
Providing assistance to the poor and most vulnerable populations in the Rio Grande Valley community
Free and low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees in West Texas, New Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
A Winning Message on Immigration, with Beatriz Lopez
In the 2024 presidential election, Republicans spent nearly $600 million on political advertisements pounding Biden (and then Harris) for botching the border. The Democrats’ uninspiring message in response was: “No we didn’t.” Ever wonder why Republicans dominate the national conversation on immigration, while Democratic politicians seem reluctant to talk about it? Beatriz Lopez is a veteran political strategist and immigration advocate with a story to tell: Why Democrats long ago decided to treat immigration as a “losing issue,” how the MAGA message machine filled the void with anti-immigrant scapegoating, and how a vocally pro-immigrant message can be both popular and effective.
Next EpisodeConfessions of an Immigration Bureaucrat, with Michael Valverde
Every year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) makes millions of highly consequential decisions that affect individual people’s lives. Applications for green cards, work permits, asylum and refugee status, even U.S. citizenship – they’re all handled by the 20,000 civil servants at USCIS. The agency has always had its struggles, but under Trump 2.0, political appointees have actively undermined and targeted civil servants like never before. Michael Valverde dedicated his career to USCIS for three decades, working in roles throughout the agency and rising to senior management. Having taken early retirement after the DOGE debacle, he’s ready to pull back the curtain on how this agency really works: Why backlogs seem so endless, how immigration officers think, and what’s the difference between useful vs. useless security vetting. Michael also shares what he’s told countless new Americans at their citizenship ceremonies: Immigrants make our country richer.