CLAIM: The federal government gives people who enter the U.S. illegally a cell phone, a domestic plane ticket to a location of their choosing and a $5,000 Visa gift card.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. People who enter the U.S. illegally do not receive such assistance from the federal government, immigration experts told The Associated Press. Immigration and Customs Enforcement gives some immigrants phones, but they can only access a monitoring app called SmartLink. Those who cross the border illegally do not receive gift cards. And although limited federal aid can help get migrants where they intend to go, they typically must choose from a set list of destinations and are usually transported by bus, not planes.

THE FACTS: A U.S. Senate candidate from Arizona in recent days spread the false information in a video circulating on social media. The erroneous claims are similar to information that has been previously misrepresented online.

“When these folks come across and they’re processed, they’re being given a cell phone, a plane ticket to wherever they want to go in this country, so probably to a community near you, and a $5,000 Visa card,” Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, a Republican, says in the video posted to his profile on X, formerly Twitter.

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He continues: “So while this Christmas season you’re struggling to keep your lights on, while you’re struggling to pay your rent, put Christmas presents under the tree for your kids, we have our government giving people...

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