Biden is not offering tax incentives for housing migrants

Published on February 23, 2024 at 19:24
2 min read
By Natalie WADE, AFP USA

As Republicans criticize the Biden administration's handling of illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border, social media posts say the Democratic president is giving tax incentives to citizens willing to house migrants. This is false; the claim stems from a satirical account, and the federal government has made no such announcement.

"JUST IN: President Biden announces tax incentives for families willing to take in slav—migrants in a new 'Housing for Labor' initiative," says a February 16, 2024 post on X, formerly Twitter.

"'You can now apply to keep a migrant in your home in exchange for cooking, cleaning, picking crops, and landscaping.'"

The post cites the official Internal Revenue Service (IRS) X account as its source.

Screenshot of an X post taken February 22, 2024

Similar claims circulated on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, including in Spanish.

A surge of crossings at the US-Mexico border has made migration a defining and divisive issue in the 2024 presidential election, with Donald Trump and other Republicans blaming Biden for the uptick.

Conservative lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted February 13 to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, arguing Biden's immigration chief failed to control illegal entries at the southern border.

House Republicans have been accused of acting in bad faith, especially after coming out against a bipartisan deal that would have imposed the toughest asylum and border policies in decades. The New York Times reports Biden is considering executive action that could prevent people who cross illegally into the United States from claiming asylum.

But the claim that his administration is giving tax incentives to families that house migrants is false -- it stems from a satirical social media account.

The post comes from the X account U.S. Ministry of Truth, which identifies itself as "satire" in its bio.

AFP found no evidence of such an initiative on the websites or social media accounts of the IRS and the White House. No credible news outlets have covered the supposed announcement, either.

IRS spokesman Eric Smith told PolitiFact the agency "has not announced or been involved in announcing any housing-related initiatives."

AFP contacted the IRS and White House for additional comment, but responses were not forthcoming.

AFP has debunked other claims about immigration here.

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Biden is not offering tax incentives for housing migrants

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