Welfare Use by Immigrant Households with Children: Panel to Examine New Report with Latest Data

By CIS
March 2011
Announcements

WASHINGTON (March 29, 2011) – A new Center for Immigration Studies report finds that, 13 years after welfare reform, the share of immigrant-headed households (legal and illegal) with a child (under age eighteen) using at least one welfare program continues to be very high. This is partly due to the large share of immigrants with low levels of education and their resulting low incomes – not their legal status or an unwillingness to work. The major welfare programs examined in this report include cash assistance, food assistance, Medicaid, and public and subsidized housing.

The findings also show wide variation in welfare use by country of origin, with immigrants from some countries making extensive use of such programs, while those from other countries have relatively low use rates. Welfare use also varies by state, with Arizona, Texas, California, New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Oregon and Colorado having some of the highest levels of welfare use among immigrant households.

The report, “Welfare Use by Immigrant Households with Children: A Look at Cash, Medicaid, Housing, and Food Programs,â€