New federal survey data analyzed by immigration researchers shows a majority of immigrant-headed households receive taxpayer-funded assistance, sharply exceeding participation among U.S.-born households.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
More than half of households headed by immigrants in the United States are enrolled in at least one taxpayer-funded welfare program, a rate that substantially exceeds welfare use among households headed by native-born Americans, according to newly released findings based on federal census data. The analysis, published by the Center for Immigration Studies in a recent report, draws on the Census Bureau’s 2024 Survey of Income and Program Participation.
Welfare Use by Immigrants and the U.S.-born, 2024 by yourNEWS Media
The data shows that 53 percent of immigrant-headed households—including those led by naturalized citizens, legal immigrants, and illegal aliens—receive benefits from at least one welfare program. By comparison, 37 percent of households headed by native-born Americans are enrolled in welfare programs.
When households headed by naturalized citizens are excluded, welfare participation rises further. Nearly six in ten households led by legal immigrants or illegal aliens receive at least one form of assistance. Among those households, 45 percent are enrolled in Medicaid, 42 percent receive food stamps, 20 percent receive cash assistance, and 4 percent receive housing assistance, according to the analysis.
Households headed by illegal aliens alone show the highest rates of welfare use. The study found that about 61 percent of those households receive some form of welfare, including 44 percent enrolled in Medicaid, 44 percent receiving food stamps, 21 percent receiving cash assistance, and 2 percent receiving housing assistance. These trends are illustrated in accompanying charts and additional figures included with the analysis.
Center for Immigration Studies
Center for Immigration Studies
Even among legal immigrants, welfare participation remains higher than that of native-born Americans. Slightly more than half of households headed by legal immigrants receive welfare benefits, including 38 percent enrolled in Medicaid, 32 percent receiving food stamps, 21 percent receiving cash assistance, and 6 percent receiving housing assistance.
Center for Immigration Studies researchers Steven Camarota and Karen Zeigler wrote that existing federal restrictions intended to prevent illegal aliens from accessing welfare programs have failed to achieve their purpose. They concluded that the structure of current immigration policy contributes significantly to the high rates of welfare use observed in the data.
“All of this means that the current family-based legal immigration system, and widespread toleration of illegal immigration, is very unlikely to shore up public coffers, even though immigrants have relatively high rates of work,” Camarota and Zeigler wrote. “If we wish to avoid high use of welfare by the foreign-born in the future, then moving to a system that selects immigrants based on their education or skills makes it much more likely they will earn higher incomes and not need welfare. Since more than one-fifth of all immigrant households using at least one welfare program are headed by an illegal immigrant, enforcing immigration laws and reducing the size of the illegal immigrant population would also be helpful in lowering future immigrant welfare use.”
The findings coincide with a recent policy move by President Donald Trump’s administration, as the State Department announced a halt to immigration from 75 countries whose nationals in the United States show the highest rates of welfare participation.
“The pause impacts dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival,” a State Department spokesperson said. “We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused. The Trump Administration will always put America First.”
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