The American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Biden in early March, distributes checks to most Americans. Part of the popularity of the stimulus, and those like it last year, is that if some small subset of Americans receives payments and others don’t, that drives up resentment. There’s less such resentment when everyone is getting checks. Therefore, the checks have widespread popularity, and there’s evidence that they have succeeded in stimulating the economy.

However, there is one exception. Some have expressed concern that illegal immigrants might receive stimulus checks in large numbers, with social media posts to that effect making the rounds throughout the spring. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, per CNN, even said during the Senate debate about the law that "every illegal alien in America" would receive such a check.

Some recent fact checks have looked at that question, and the answer by all of them is that some may, but most won’t.

“The vast majority of immigrants without lawful status in the U.S. do not have Social Security numbers and cannot receive a $1,400 stimulus check,” the Associated Press said when it looked at the question in March. "A small number of people who entered the U.S. on a temporary work visa and were issued Social Security numbers may be able to receive a payment, even if they overstayed their visas.”

This was also the case for both stimulus packages that passed in 2020. The American Rescue Plan, meanwhile, includes language stating that "any nonresident alien individual” is not eligible for a $1,400 check.

Politifact looked at the question as well. The fact-checking site rated the claim about undocumented immigrants receiving the checks “mostly false.”

“Among noncitizens, generally, only those who are authorized to work in the United States by the Department of Homeland Security can get a Social Security number, including legal permanent residents. The vast majority of people in the country illegally don’t have a Social Security number, so they wouldn’t qualify for payments for themselves, even if they met the income limits.”

“Under the law, with some exceptions, only people who have a Social Security number can receive a $1,400 stimulus check for themselves. The vast majority of immigrants who are in the country illegally don’t have a Social Security number. The law would still pay $1,400 for each of their dependents who has a Social Security number.”

The Center For Immigration Studies, a conservative organization whose slogan is “Low Immigration, Pro Immigrant,” issued a report in March estimating that 2.65 million illegal immigrants have Social Security numbers, and therefore would be eligible to receive the American Rescue Plan checks. The same organization has estimated that there are more than 10 million undocumented immigrants in the United States currently.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.