diff --git a/src/dev/i18n/integrate_locale_files.ts b/src/dev/i18n/integrate_locale_files.ts
index 14776d609755d..ed4f7db4376bb 100644
--- a/src/dev/i18n/integrate_locale_files.ts
+++ b/src/dev/i18n/integrate_locale_files.ts
@@ -111,9 +111,7 @@ export function verifyMessages(
     if (defaultMessage) {
       try {
         const message = localizedMessagesMap.get(messageId)!;
-        if (message) {
-          verifyICUMessage(typeof message === 'string' ? message : message.text);
-        }
+        verifyICUMessage(typeof message === 'string' ? message : message?.text);
       } catch (err) {
         if (options.ignoreMalformed) {
           localizedMessagesMap.delete(messageId);