By Steven A. Camarota and Karen Zeigler:
Using the 2024 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), this analysis follows the Census Bureau’s standard definition of welfare and reports use of means-tested anti-poverty programs by households headed by immigrants and the U.S.-born. We exclude social insurance programs like Social Security and Medicare, which individuals pay in to and are not means-tested. The findings show that households headed by immigrants, also called the “foreign-born”, are significantly more likely to receive benefits than households headed by the U.S.-born. The ability of low-income immigrants, including illegal immigrants, to receive benefits on behalf of U.S.-born citizen children is a key reason restrictions on welfare use for new legal immigrants, and illegal immigrants, are relatively ineffective. If we want immigrants to use less welfare in the future, then reducing illegal immigration and changing the selection criteria for legal immigrants to emphasize skills should be considered.
Among the findings:
- The 2024 SIPP indicates that 53 percent of households headed by immigrants — naturalized citizens, legal residents, and illegal immigrants — used one or more major welfare programs. This compares to 37 percent for U.S.-born households.
- The rate is 59 percent for non-citizen households (e.g. green card holders and illegal immigrants).
- Compared to households headed by the U.S.-born, immigrant-headed households have especially high use of food programs (35 percent vs. 22 percent for the U.S.-born), Medicaid (39 percent vs. 27 percent for the U.S.-born), and the Earned Income Tax Credit (15 percent vs. 10 percent for the U.S.-born).
- Our best estimate is that 51 percent of households headed by legal immigrants use at least one major welfare program. Among illegal immigrants, also called the undocumented, we estimate the rate is 61 percent. We have no evidence that this is due to fraud.