White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was fact-checked almost immediately after claiming to reporters that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are just handed out in most states without any sort of documentation of need.
Miller spoke at a roundtable which featured Republican state attorneys general and Vice President JD Vance. The roundtable was convened to discuss ways to stamp out fraud in state-federal partnership programs.
At one point, Miller said:
"All the systems in our country, whether you're talking about voting, whether you're talking about entitlements, whether you're talking about welfare benefits, were set up based on the honor system. They were set up based on the idea you could trust the average person through their own morality to abide by the rules and abide by the law."
"The way most welfare works in most states and most places is we take your word for it. If you say your kids are hungry, you are going to get food stamps. We don't check, as a country, if you even have kids. We don't even check if you even have children. You will just start getting the checks."
Miller than brought up Somali immigrants in Minnesota as an example of people who are "not abiding by the honor system." The claim echoes past conservative claims—offered with little supporting evidence—that Somali-run childcare centers in Minnesota improperly received public funds intended to support childcare for low-income families.
He added that "the amount that has been fleeced from us is in the hundreds of billions of dollars" and insisted that the U.S. Treasury "could be balanced" if funds "went to individuals who are properly, lawfully, correctly eligible to receive them."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Miller's claims are dead wrong—and have even been the subject of a community note on X that points out that SNAP "requires verification of household composition and members’ identities through documentation such as birth certificates, school records, or other proofs, not solely on an applicant’s word."
SNAP's website also points out the following:
"Once you submit your application, your state agency or local SNAP office will process it and send you a notice telling you whether or not you are eligible for benefits within 30 days. During the 30 days, you will need to complete an eligibility interview and give proof (verification) of the information you provided."
States maintain their own eligibility rules as well, often spelling out detailed documentation requirements for applicants. In Florida, for instance, applicants must submit recent dated pay stubs, along with statements from household employers confirming current employment. They are also asked to provide a copy of the household’s prior-year tax return.
Meanwhile, in Nevada, applicants are required to present paycheck records or employer verification of employment. Those unable to work must provide documentation from a doctor, while unemployed applicants must show proof of termination along with their final pay stub.
Contrary to Miller’s claims, SNAP eligibility is not open to everyone.
Certain groups are barred from receiving benefits regardless of their financial situation, including undocumented immigrants, many legal immigrants with specific statuses, workers participating in strikes, some college students enrolled at least half time, and, in certain states, people with particular drug-related felony convictions.
Miller was swiftly called out.
Of course, this is just Miller repeating the same old tired lies that he's been regurgitating for a while.
Miller argued in March that undocumented immigrants were contributing to the nation’s growing debt burden, making the remarks during an executive order signing focused on alleged fraud in federal benefit programs.
Miller claimed Democrats had created systems that directed “hundreds of billions, and ultimately trillions of dollars” toward migrants. As part of that argument, he pointed to undocumented immigrants receiving Medicaid benefits and emergency medical treatment at hospitals.
According to Miller, immigration agents had questioned a group of detained migrants about Medicaid enrollment, and he alleged that roughly half said they were receiving the benefit. He further claimed that even migrants not enrolled in Medicaid still obtained medical treatment at hospitals, with the costs ultimately falling on taxpayers through uncompensated care.
However, research from the Cato Institute found that, from 1994 through 2023, immigrants—including both documented and undocumented immigrants—paid more in taxes annually than they received in government benefits.
The study concluded that, had the federal government collected immigrants’ tax contributions without spending any money on them, the government still would have accumulated a roughly $20 trillion deficit over that period. The researchers argued that immigrants were not responsible for rising deficits and instead reduced them by an estimated $14.5 trillion.
