No, migrants don’t receive $3,500 debit cards

Hurricane Helene made landfall Sept. 26 and left a wave of both destruction and misinformation. Amid that is the claim by some social media users that the U.S. government gave more financial assistance to migrants than those affected by the disaster. 

Multiple Facebook users shared a photo of the destruction Hurricane Helene left in Marshall, North Carolina, with overlaying text saying, "$750 each." Below that was a 2023 photo of migrants being processed by U.S. border patrol agents in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, with text reading, "$3500 debit cards Free cell phone Free food Free housing." 

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Screenshot from Facebook

Although Hurricane Helene victims qualify for immediate assistance of $750, that is not the only aid available to them. Further, migrants are not receiving debit cards worth $3,500 per person.

Vice President Kamala Harris said Oct. 2 in Augusta, Georgia, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is "providing $750 for folks who need immediate needs being met, such as food, baby formula and the like." During the same remarks, Harris said FEMA "is also providing tens of thousands more dollars for folks to help them be able to deal with home repair, to be able to cover a deductible when and if they have insurance, and also hotel costs."

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The claim about $3,500 debit cards refers to a New York City initiative that began as a pilot program in March and gave prepaid debit cards to 500 migrant families sheltering in New York City hotels to reduce the cost of food distribution. The cards are funded through New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, not the federal government, and can be used only to pay for food and baby supplies for a 28-day period.

William Fowler, a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, told PolitiFact via email Oct. 10 that the pilot program has expanded to help more than 1,700 migrant families. The prepaid debit cards contain a monthly allowance that is distributed weekly for four weeks and can be used only at grocery stores and bodegas, Fowler said.

The monthly allowances vary by family size, but are much less than $3,500 per person. For example, a family of four with two children younger than 5 would receive about $350 each week until the end of their four week stay, Fowler said.

Fowler sent PolitiFact a table in February that shows the varying monthly allotments for the cards. He said Oct.10 that those allotments haven’t changed. The table shows that a family of four receives a $1,195 allotment for 28 days. Pregnant people and children ages 5 to 17 are given an additional $36 during the 28-day period, and children younger than 5 are given an additional $100 during the 28 days. So, a family of four with two 10-year-olds would receive $1,267 for the program’s entirety.

Source: A table emailed to PolitiFact from a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams,  showing debit card allotments for migrants based on household size for a 28-day period.

PolitiFact has also previously debunked claims that migrants are given free cellphones and free housing. We have also rated Pants on Fire claims that FEMA stole money for disaster relief to spend it on helping migrants.

We rate the claim that the government gave $3,500 debit cards to migrants while only giving $750 to Hurricane Helene victims False.