Immigration

An Incredible Share Of Migrant Households Use Welfare, Study Finds

(Screen Capture/PBS NewsHour)

Nearly half of households in the United States headed by a non-citizen benefit from some form of traditional government welfare, according to a newly published analysis.

Forty-seven percent of migrant households are taking advantage of one or more traditional welfare programs, according to a study released by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a group that advocates for lower levels of immigration. When including other forms of welfare, such as eligibility for certain tax credits, this figure rises to well over 50%.

“Although most new legal immigrants and illegal immigrants are barred from accessing most means-tested programs, these restrictions have not prevented a large share of non-citizen-headed households from accessing the welfare system,” stated the authors of the study.

“This is primarily because non-citizens often receive benefits on behalf of their U.S.-born children and the restrictions only apply to some programs,” the authors continued.

The means-tested programs factored into the study include Supplemental Security Income, SNAP (food stamps), WIC, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and other anti-poverty initiatives.

When including the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit, welfare usage among immigrant households surged to 54%, according to CIS. To put this figure into perspective, only 31% of U.S.-born households take advantage of corresponding welfare programs.

The CIS study examined welfare use among households headed by non-citizens by country and region of birth using data from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement. The findings show major variation between counties of origin, and a major contributor to welfare use hinged on educational attainment, not an unwillingness to work.

“What matters is income, number of dependents, and sometimes assets — not employment,” the study stated. “Of course, employers do not see the costs created by allowing in large numbers of less-educated workers because the burden is diffuse, borne by all taxpayers. But that does not make the costs any less real.”

The non-citizen households most likely to use traditional welfare include Afghanistan at 87%, the Dominican Republic at 78% and Guatemala at 77%, according to the study. On the other end of the spectrum, immigrant households with the lowest welfare usage included Korea at 30%, the United Kingdom at 25% and India at 16%.

“Traditionally, one of the most important arguments for immigration is that it benefits the United States — that is, the existing population of Americans,” the authors stated. “From this perspective, it is certainly reasonable to expect that those who come from other countries should, with the possible exception of refugees and asylees, use very little welfare.”

“However, this analysis, like others going back decades, has found that for many countries and regions this is not the case,” the authors continued.

The CIS study follows an increased crackdown on not only illegal immigration, but also welfare use by otherwise legal foreigners. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency tasked with managing the country’s legal immigration system, unveiled a slate of new policies in 2025 that seeks to limit welfare usage by non-citizens.

USCIS announced in September that it would more meticulously weed out green card applicants who’ve used welfare or other taxpayer-funded government services, meaning migrants on welfare should not expect to be on a pathway to citizenship. Just week earlier, the agency declared it would not only consider a foreign national’s absence of misconduct during their citizenship application process, but also factor in their “positive attributes” to society.

The administration also advised in September that American citizens sponsoring migrants who end up using taxpayer-funded benefits would be held financially liable and could even face criminal charges, placing all the more pressure on foreign nationals to quit using taxpayer-funded assistance altogether.

“It is crucial for sponsors and aliens to meet their fiscal obligations and not push financial burdens onto the American people,” USCIS Spokesman Matthew Tragesser told the Daily Caller News Foundation at the time.

While the Trump administration is working to mitigate welfare usage among immigrants, many Democrat-led states have continued to dole out major taxpayer-funded services to the foreign-born population. California leaders have been pushing to restore full Medi-Cal coverage for illegal immigrants age 19 and older after a budget shortfall forced cuts, and a Colorado program providing health care for pregnant illegal immigrants is costing the state more than seven times its budget projections.