More race-baiting and lies about just who is receiving Medicaid and SNAP benefits from the propagandists on Fox not "news." Over the last month, I've watched these people fat-shaming people receiving food stamps, rehash all the Reagan-era talking points about welfare queens, and then, of course, there's the fearmongering over all of those "illegals" supposedly taking benefits away from those hard-working Americans that really deserve them, which was on full display on Laura Ingraham's show this Friday.
Here's Ingraham and her guests, Matt Towery and Christopher Bedford, citing the Center for Immigration Studies, which SPLC has designated as a hate group, and distorting who can receive benefits and whether they work or not.
INGRAHAM: Matt, how does that work as an issue? You're an expert in polling and political analysis. So, food stamps themselves are safety net for people truly in need. We know there's an enormous amount of abuse, and a lot of foreign-born individuals getting food stamps. A huge percentage of the refugee population receiving food stamps. But the Democrats don't want it reformed, don't want any questions asked, and also don't want to fund it.
TOWERY: Well, I think the public is just now beginning to hear the information about how many people who are receiving food stamps who simply are not from this country and came into the country illegally. And I think as more of this information comes out, you'll see more resentment for that aspect. Now, there's always been a sympathy among voters for the social safety net.
And I just want to add one thing about what the Democrats were doing. You know, they, I don't know that these decisions by these judges are helping them, because the Democrats really wanted people to not get this assistance and be up in arms and very upset and cause more turmoil over the next week. And these judges have stepped in and said, oh, well, we think we're going to feed you how we're going to do it. I don't quite know.
I do think that we're seeing a change in public opinion towards all of these benefits. You talked about Obamacare earlier. There's a slow shift that you won't see it from the legacy pollsters. You won't hear from the legacy media. But the country is beginning to shift, and I think it starts with the youngest of voters, the ones who are having to get out there and make money and find jobs. And you noted that earlier.
INGRAHAM: Well, just for people who don't know the breakdown, we'll put up on the screen. The number of people, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, who receive this assistance in the way of food stamps, 17% of illegal alien households use SNAP or food stamps in addition to food programs. 18% of illegal alien households were enrolled in one of the cash programs. 4% were using a housing program. 39% used Medicaid.
Chris, I think Americans who are struggling to pay their bills, struggling with food prices, they're infuriated at people stealing from stores and justifying it, getting away with it. And they're really sick of illegal aliens coming here and taking the services that are reserved for Americans in need. It's a terrible issue for Democrats.
BEDFORD: Ithink that's right. And this is not something that has been a focal point of President Trump. This is something that's now being highlighted by the Democrats and their supporters. And people are looking at it.
You go to the TikTok videos of people threatening to rob stores and loot and ransack places, and it is not a sympathetic group of people. This is not little skinny orphans who are starving. This is not babies who are starving. This is people who refuse to work, who refuse to participate, who depend, who are taking advantage of a system who put a lot of intellectual resources and energy and to figure out how to get free things as opposed to figuring out how to better themselves, better, take care of their families, better their communities. And now it's all thrown in the limelight by themselves.
INGRAHAM: Yeah, well, we want people in need, who are truly in need to get help. That's what that system is there for. No one should be gaming this system. It shouldn't be a lifelong program and a legacy program.
Here are some facts about who is receiving Medicaid from KFF:
Confusion persists about immigrants’ eligibility for federal programs, with about half or more of U.S. adults and immigrants adults saying they are unsure or incorrectly believe that most immigrants to the U.S. are eligible to enroll in federal health insurance programs, including Medicaid, as soon as they arrive to the U.S. Eligibility for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is limited to citizens and certain lawfully present immigrants. Many citizens and lawfully present immigrants live in families with mixed immigration status, which may include undocumented immigrants. For example, 19 million or one in four children in the U.S. has an immigrant parent, including one in ten (12%) or 9 million who are citizen children with a noncitizen parent. Although most immigrant families have a full-time worker in the household, they tend to have lower incomes. As such, Medicaid and CHIP help keep uninsured rates for children in these families low and provide an affordable coverage option to eligible lawfully present immigrants. Despite having lower incomes, among those under age 65, immigrants are less likely than U.S.-born citizens to have Medicaid or CHIP coverage (19% vs. 23%) and eligible noncitizen immigrants account for just 6% of Medicaid and CHIP enrollees.
[...]
Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to enroll in federally funded coverage including Medicaid, CHIP, or Medicare or to purchase coverage through the ACA Marketplaces. Emergency Medicaid spending reimburses hospitals for emergency care they are obligated to provide to individuals who meet other Medicaid eligibility requirements (such as income) but who do not have an eligible immigration status, including undocumented immigrants and lawfully present immigrants who remain ineligible for Medicaid or CHIP.
Lawfully present immigrants may qualify for Medicaid or CHIP but are subject to eligibility restrictions. In general, in addition to meeting other eligibility requirements, lawfully present immigrants must have a “qualified” immigration status to be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP (Table 1), and many, including most lawful permanent residents or “green card” holders, must wait five years after obtaining qualified status before they may enroll. They may enroll in Marketplace coverage and receive subsidies during this five-year waiting period. Some immigrants with qualified status, such as refugees and asylees, as well as citizens of Compact of Free Association (COFA) nations, do not have to wait five years before enrolling. Some immigrants, such as those with temporary protected status, are lawfully present but do not have a qualified status and are not eligible to enroll regardless of their length of time in the country. Individuals with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status are not eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, and implementation of a Marketplace coverage expansion for them remains subject to ongoing litigation. States must verify citizenship and immigration status with the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security to determine eligibility for coverage.
None of those facts will stop people like Ingraham and her guests from trying to gin up anger and resentment against undocumented immigrants.
UPDATE: The attack on people supposedly "people threatening to rob stores and loot and ransack places" came from Fox falling for some AI slop:
Not sure if I’ve seen anything like this before — Fox feel for an AI video and basically rewrote their whole story when called out https://t.co/L7bVMpb4Dw pic.twitter.com/tr0XgzCSQX
— Andrew Kaczynski (@KFILE) November 1, 2025
