Government

Report: Immigrants Use Welfare System More Than Natives

Majority on at least one program; collections by illegals higher than legals
By: Kenric Ward | Posted: April 6, 2011 3:55 AM
A day after a "civil justice" group asked why Florida needed new immigration laws, a Washington think tank offered a dollars-and-cents answer.

The Center for Immigration Studies on Tuesday reported that U.S. immigrants -- legal and illegal -- use welfare programs at a higher rate than the native population.

While conventional wisdom contends that immigrants cross the border to work, 57 percent of households headed by immigrants collect at least one welfare check, compared to 39 percent for native households.

Researchers say those findings explain in part why Food Stamp recipients are at an all-time high of 44 million.

Not all immigrants behave the same, however. Households with children with the highest rates of welfare use are headed by migrants from the Dominican Republic (82 percent), Mexico and Guatemala (75 percent), and Ecuador (70 percent).

The lowest rates are found among immigrants from the United Kingdom (7 percent), India (19 percent) and Canada and Korea (25 percent),

Florida, home to some 1 million illegal immigrants, spends an estimated $5.5 billion providing social services to undocumented migrants each year.

Steve Camarota, director of research for the CIS, said that high rates of welfare usage do not necessarily reflect immigrants' unwillingness to work.

"The vast majority (95 percent) of immigrant households with children had at least one worker in 2009. But their low education levels mean that more than half of these working-immigrant households with children still accessed the welfare system."

The Florida Legislature is considering a series of bills that would crack down on illegal immigration. On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 2040, which purports to tighten hiring in the private sector by requiring employers to either use the federal E-Verify screening database or verify a REAL ID-compliant driver's license.

The measure is broadly opposed by business organizations and immigrant-rights groups, including Florida New Majority, which declared: "Florida has many problems, immigrants aren't one of them."

"We have no idea why Florida is still pushing through with this," the group said in a statement Monday.

But CIS research indicates that state taxpayers are shouldering an ongoing and growing cost of immigration -- both legal and illegal.

While some argue that immigrant families tend to be younger and have more children -- which leads to more welfare use -- the CIS study found that childless immigrant households also far outstrip comparable native households in collecting welfare.

Notably, illegal immigrant households collect welfare benefits at a higher rate than households headed by legal residents.

"We estimate that 52 percent of households with children headed by legal immigrants used at least one welfare program in 2009, compared to 71 percent for illegal immigrant households with children. Illegal immigrants generally receive benefits on behalf of their U.S.-born children," Camarota wrote.

In Florida, 48.7 percent of immigrant households collected some form of welfare versus 35.1 percent of native households. In Miami-Dade, the spread was 55.9 percent versus 49.6 percent.

Although most new legal immigrants are barred from using certain welfare programs for the first five years, CIS found that provision had only a "modest impact" on household use because most immigrants have been in the United States longer than five years, and the ban only applies to some programs.

The eight major welfare programs examined in the report were: SSI (Supplemental Security Income), TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families), WIC (Women Infants and Children food program), free/reduced school lunch, Food Stamps, Medicaid, public housing and rent subsidies.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2011/immigrant-welfare-use-4-11.pdf
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.


Comments (26)

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Brian
12:25AM APR 19TH 2011
Illegals are working. But becuase they are receiving low wages - they qualify for welfare benefits as long as they concieve a child. The more children they have on American soil - the more welfare benefits they recieve. Most State and Federal governments easily allow this by not verifying citizenship.
Fed up and disgusted
11:51AM APR 11TH 2011
The illegals are destroying our country, plain and simple. To all Americans, join NumbersUSA or a group of your choice. If not for yourselves, do it for your children and grandchildren. To those who do not believe, go to your local social services office and you will see nothing but foreign born people, none of whom speaks English. And by the way, any American citizen whom has the audacity to seek assistance (like myself who has paid into these programs for 40 years) are treated rudely and with disrespect. And God forbid, should you be educated and only speak English, you are treated even worse. Everything is wrong in this country and I do not want to live in a third world country. Sadly, that seems to be the direction that we are taking.
John Isoldi
7:52AM APR 8TH 2011
The basic problem is that when Asian emmigrate to the USA, they come, work and build. This, combined with the great waves of european emmigrants during the 18th 19th and 20th Centuries, BUILT both the Economic and physical infrastructure of the the United States. All were happy to be in a land where they could prosper and the future was limited only by their own ambition. They received no government largesse, nor did they ask for any. They welcomed becoming a part of the great American "Melting Pot". They fought and died in America's wars for the sake of the Nation and the future generations of "American" families that they were creating.

Now, waves of immgrants come, take, and send money "home". That is the crux of the problem. Most do not come to enrich themselves as part of the "American Society". They come as foreign workers, whose only goal is to siphon off the wealth of that Society for themselves. By and Large, they look at US Citizenship primarily as a way to garner more "benefits". Now, they are Russians, Latinos, etc., etc. who happen to have US Passports.
Jon in Los Angeles
6:40PM APR 7TH 2011
Anyone who comments here in favor of illegal immigrants does not live in an area with illegal immigrants. I work in the construction industry I know the Hispanic mindset very well. There are pluses and there are minuses to their culture, but here is the bottom line: They are a proud people and most have no interest in integrating into American culture. Their own toilet bowl countries are so rife with corruption they learn how to game the system here. Hence this article. California has been destroyed by them.
Robert Simmons
1:39PM APR 11TH 2011
I agree one hundred percent with the comment that calif. has been ruined by illegal immigration and as a bilingual American military veteran who had to close down a construction business because of them I can attest to them viewing our country with a rapist mentality . I have listened to them bragging about taking America over and killing those not from their particular country , this included the murder of multi generational Mexican Americans !
Brittanicus
5:13PM APR 7TH 2011
TEACHERS, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION & TAXES?


In school districts throughout America thousands of teachers have been receiving pink slips, because there is no money in the State treasuries to pay them; unless more taxes are extracted from the residents. This problem seems to be mostly centered in the larger cities, but wherever this grave situation is in effect, the outcome is the same? Unless the diverse State legislators can drag more taxes from the State residents, this situation will only get far worse. OUR SCHOOLS ARE FAILING BECAUSE OF THE NEGATIVE DIRECT INFLUENCE, OF CHILDREN THAT HAVE LIITLE COMPREHENSION OF ENGLISH, BUT UNDER FEDERAL LAW THEY MUST BE EDUCATED. But I see this issue in different light, which if the Public hadn't been royally skewered by the birthright citizenship law, this educating the world, would never have happened.


The law mishandled in the interpretation of the 14th amendment, billions of dollars would not be going to educating children of illegal immigrants. This is not to mention the hundreds of thousands of individuals smuggled monthly across borders or enter America illegally or by other means. The definitive point being that there would be no need for the extraordinary amount of Teachers desired to teach the children of illegal aliens if they were not here. That billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars would be saved. Any prudent persons, who has not been brainwashed by the Leftists, must comprehend that our clogged classrooms, a need for bilingual teachers that our nation has been silently invaded. True born Americans and permanent residents have endured the “Politically Correct” doctrine for too long. That it’s facilitated this country plummeting into an apathetic chaotic mess. Where in some States police cannot question you on your legal status?


Governor Brewer and State Senator Pierce are right now defending their State in the courts from the Communist aggressive nutcases in the ACLU, or liberal progressives masquerading as Democrats. The Sanctuary State of California is weighed down with illegal invaders, so the taxpayers should repudiate any more demands for even more teachers. The occupation of foreigners has not impeded by Washington DC, Sacramento, CA. Salt Lake City, UT, Denver CO or any States East, that has an acute shortage of teachers because of this fundamental issue. So until all the lax States start legislating policing laws, as implemented by Arizona, Alabama and others the illegal alien invasion will be endless. States like refuge-California, Nevada will be bombarded by illegal migrant refugees, where policing laws are not being enforced. Every time non-enforcement States demand more taxes, Americans should not sign onto this travesty.

CALIFORNIA TAXPAYERS ESPECIALLY SHOULD STATE TO GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN, NO MORE TAXES TO HIRE MORE TEACHERS BECAUSE OF THE MASSIVE INFLUX OF CHILDREN OF ILLEGAL ALIENS.

It's all up to the hurting taxpayer, to say "Enough is enough" because otherwise legislators in particularly California, will keep bleeding you. Even now a committee in Sacramento eliminated new policing laws. Today Arizona will prosecute and deport illegal alien workers, if caught trespassing in that State. IT’S A SIMPLE ADMISSION THAT MILLIONS FROM OTHER HARD CORE POLICING STATES WILL POUR INTO UNRESTRICTED CALIFORNIA, NEVADA FURTHER NORTH AND OUTWARDS EAST.

In person I have seen the overcrowded classrooms in California and the overwhelmed Teachers as my own son was confronted with this chaos. No wonder California schools have failed in performance, whereas twenty years ago they topped exemplary learning. With no backbone available the lawmakers have failed the American people, to build the REAL fences, embracing mandated policing laws of E-Verify, Secure Communities and the detainment law 287 G, playing into the hands of sullied business owners. We are already locking away more foreign criminals of the most hideous examples of human depravity, which US taxpayers are paying for? Not forgetting with the border not sealed criminal activity has spilled across the open territory claiming it as their own. These people are coming up from the darkest recesses of cesspools in the furthest reaches of South America and other sewers of the world.


Only since the inception of the rising TEA PARTIES persona, have I thought we might have the prospect of ending this craziness, exploited by the Left, businesses and the open border zealots. Already the TEA PARTY is fighting the shadow government within the Democratic Party, to stop the out of control spending. Illegal Immigration is a pestilence that must be reduced and stopped; until its trickle; only allowing top notch skillful people to immigrate here. We have no money with two wars emanating from the Far East, and the uninhibited costs of educating the world’s poor that arrive here or having to pay for babies born here or free health care for all.

The taxpayers can either keep on supporting this silent attack on this nation, or they outlaw illegal immigration and its long term ramifications. Since the economic illegal invaders started eating up benefit entitlements some twenty years back, it’s remarkable that the general public hasn’t seen through paramount issue? Join NumbersUSA of any predominant pro-sovereignty organization and also prove your patriotism by becoming an activist member of a local TEA PARTY. They represent the taxpayers of the United States, not the-TAX AND SPEND Liberal extremists.
MaryR
5:01PM APR 7TH 2011
I live in California and they've bankrupted us! Anchor babies' families are given welfare and support for each of them. Illegals are taking our jobs and our tax money. We need e-Verify, stop ALL social services to them, require ID when registering for and voting, redefine the 14th Amendment to the intended results which is not anchor babies and deport every one of them that they catch. If they have anchor babies and don't want the family broken up, they can all move back to the parents' home country. We're broke and need to take care of our own first!
Mike
3:27PM APR 7TH 2011
I don't care about polls, they can lie, my eyes don't. We've got a group of illegalls living next door to us. How do I know they're illegal, one of the women told my Cuban wife that they hid from census workers out of fear of deportation. There are three families living in the 2 bedroom house, and cars in various states of disrepair are parked all over the front yard. They shop with foodstamps, I know that because my wife has taken them shopping on more than one occassion. Every morning the men pile into a pickup and take off, I'm assuming to work. What burns me up is the fact that they have plenty of money for beer, big screens , and loud parties. But they can't afford food for their kids or a tow truck to haul off the junk cars. I asked my wife to talk to them about the cluttered yard and junk cars. She got a lecture about how mean gringos are against hispanics. I went ahead and called the city code people last week, I have yet to see them.
dareisay
9:46AM APR 7TH 2011
$100 Billion is spent on illegal aliens each year, throughout the USA!

They scam every government program to get gov. benefits! A few in Colorado, a couple of yrs ago, filed their IRS tax forms. Filled out by another illegal. They reported they had so many kids, lied about everything...and between all those that filed, the IRS sent them checks equal to $1 million dollars! They didn't even have kids!

Our economy is in horrible shape, and our elite politicians continue to force citizens to fund illegals here....plus the billions they ship to foreign countries each year!

It's time to stop this! It is also time for foreign leaders to reform their own countries to help their OWN people!

They are NOT our responsibility!
Joe Harkins
8:49AM APR 7TH 2011
You said, " . . . facts show that illegal, by their numbers, vote more then American citizens "

Those "facts" do not exist. This is just one more "gator gonna getcher granny" invented "fact."

A fact that you will not like to hear is this:

Here are the statistics on welfare recipients:

Traits of families on AFDC (1)

Race
--------------
White 38.8%
Black 37.2
Hispanic 17.8
Asian 2.8
Other 3.4

another fact you will not like published:

To be eligible for welfare in the United States, an applicant must be a United States citizen or lawfully admitted to the country for permanent residence. Some exceptions may apply to citizenship rules. When an individual applies for welfare, his or her citizenship status is reviewed, along with the status of each household member, before assistance is granted. Each state has its own residency requirements as well. For example, to be eligible in Pennsylvania, an individual must be living within the state and have the intention of remaining there.

A social security number is required for receiving welfare benefits. This is required not just of adults, but also of children in an applying household. If someone in an applying household doesn’t have a social security number, the person must apply for one, provide proof of applying for a number, and give the number to his or her caseworker once it is issued. The caseworker may also require a copy of the person’s social security card.

Often, adults must meet certain work requirements in order to be eligible for welfare

th0se facts are from

http://www.wisegeek.com/who-is-eligible-for-welfare-in-the-united-states...
Matt
4:38PM APR 20TH 2011
You quote a law? That's it? You think they MIGHT be going around that law? It amazes me how people will try and find any excuse for bad behaviour, any excuse. Bottom line is 20% of Mexico's population is here illegally. If you don't believe that's causing harm to our culture, our pocketbooks, our way of life, I invite you to take a trip through Los Angeles at 10 in the evening down a boulevard. English isn't spoken there and there's no interest in the US. The Mexicans in LA call it Northern Mexico. Our pocketbooks call it robbery. Our children call it robbing their future.
DutchUncle
5:27AM APR 7TH 2011
Follow the money, and the Votes. this is a plan that has been a process for years. It is one more millstone around the neck of every Working American that votes conservative and one more bullit hole in OUR Constitution. Bringing down the nation and forcing everyone to rely on the Federal Gov't is the plan and making illegal legal with one stroke of a pen is where he will get his votes to be re-elected. So far facts show that illegal, by their numbers, vote more then American citizens hence we have these Spenders in office all over the country from Cal. to NYC. do you REALLY think they got there in a Fair Vote? Not after telling everyone what they plan to do to this country and where they would take us,,,like the president did in his campaign in 08.
Allowing non citizens to use OUR tax money to live for free is now cost us, U.S., some $330 Billion a year...this from the CBO inself.
Ferdinand
7:25PM APR 6TH 2011
CIS a WASHINGTON Think Tank? What kind of tank do they have? garbage?
And they have the guts to write what the major welfare programs are. How can illegals recieve these programs without papers?

"The eight major welfare programs examined in the report were: SSI (Supplemental Security Income), TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families), WIC (Women Infants and Children food program), free/reduced school lunch, Food Stamps, Medicaid, public housing and rent subsidies."
Is this study written by an expert or a reality twister. Is it a fact or fiction?
Florida Patriot (for PEople not Corps)
11:35PM APR 6TH 2011
Is this site a joke? None of this information even comes close to being accurate, and even more surprising is that it's all information a 4th grader could Google and determine to be wrong? Maybe this is some sort of supremacy site that is trying to strengthen it's fear base? Either way, all you need is one little google and then everyone will feel a little silly for thinking this was real news...
MattMatt
4:57PM APR 20TH 2011
The CIS is a known excellent source and has been so for years. The SPC is a group of America hating Communists. Their recent activity was to take a man's land on the border in Arizona because he "mistreated" men(invaders) crossing into the US from mexico tresspassing on his land. The SPC found a way to take his land. So, the SPC promotes the invasion of our country and to attack any citizen that tries to defend their rights. That's the left for you - there's nothing they've touched that hasn't turned to garbage, nothing.
DutchUncle
5:33AM APR 7TH 2011
It's Real, and it will take us, U.S., down. Get off Google and do some REAL research. Google, unless you live under a rock, has been meeting with this administration and has been involve in disruptions all over the world. They are now being investigated and sued by over half of the EU and still they enjoy the ear of the President. Doesn't that sound suspicious,,or are you to dependent on your Federal Paycheck to see what it really going on under your nose? LIke I said, when you do your research, or fact finding, elemenate Google and use a search engine that doesn't detort the facts with nonsense.
Robert Lloyd
4:44PM APR 6TH 2011
>>Florida, home to some 1 million illegal immigrants<<

Interesting Kenric, they tell us there are a million illegals in Florida, but I believe it is far greater than that. I live in SW Florida and there HAS to be a million just in this area. We can't go anywhere without being surrounded by Hispanics. Anyone with any common sense can see there is one huge problem here.

They are loud people. They do not take care of their homes adequately to live among us and then they again are loud. They will never be the equal of the typical culture of middle America, or what once was middle America. They bring in drugs, diseases, lawlessness, and are bankrupting our hospitals (see new Mexico and Arizona). If they were good for Mexico, why isn't Mexico a better place? And why then are they good for us?
re
12:24PM APR 6TH 2011
In reporting on the CIS report, you might note that CIS is closely associated with an anti-immigrant lobby group called FAIR, which has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center: http://www.splcenter.org/publications/the-nativist-lobby-three-faces-of-....
Robert Simmons
1:55PM APR 11TH 2011
All you have to do to be listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Lie Center is for one of your opponents to donate money to the splc on the condition that they do so. I don't see them bad mouthing La Raza or the new black panther party which promotes hatred toward other Americans of a different race
Dave
4:31PM APR 6TH 2011
Who cares what the Leftist Southern Poverty Law Center has to say! The truth is in the numbers! Immigrants use more public assistance, PERIOD!
Jon
11:06PM APR 6TH 2011
And how do you know that? phone survey like the article claims? yeah pathetic, the undocumented for sure will be very wiling to tell a stranger they are on welfare. I bet. Very believable!
halibut
11:40AM APR 6TH 2011
The number of children under age 18 that reside in immigrant (at least one immigrant parent) household has gone from 15% to 25% since 1990. Stands to reason that a larger percent of that number are also born here and thus are eligible for some kind of assistance. Legal immigrants can, in certain circumstances, get public assistance. Most immigrate based on family relationships and not skill or education and can't compete for jobs with those backgrounds. Thus, they will rely more heavily on public assiatnce.
Herb
10:28AM APR 7TH 2011
I don't know of a welfare office that uses E-Verify to make sure that the SSN being used belongs to the person using it.
In CA none of the public assistance offices verify citizenship.
Since NONE of the government offices verify the citizenship, SSN or basic eligibility, or even try to track citizenship, we don't have a clue about the real numbers. This doesn't even count the ones that the assistance is for the anchor babies and the welfare office knows the parent(s) are here illegally.
In 1986 we were told the amnesty being passed would cover about 1 million illegal aliens. Ended up with 3 million being granted citizenship.

Now the government tells us that there are between 12 and 20 million illegal aliens in the country. How much do you want to bet that it is more like 36-60 million???
Elizabeth
11:16AM APR 22ND 2011
You're probably right about there being more illegal immigrants than we realize. We don't really know the numbers.

What we do know is E-verify's error rate. It is almost 50%, and it can go either way. It verifies illegals, and it also turns down legals.

there is a reason that no government agency uses E-verify. It is rife with inaccuracies. Why are we surprised that it is a failure. It is another government run program.

This is a terrible mess that we have, and there are no quick answers. We need total federal immigrant reform, and maybe the states need to pull together and demand that an amendment vote (state by state - like the ERA vote years ago) to demand that the feds make the changes at their level. REAL REFORM is what we need. These state bandaid approaches are just that. The illegals will scam the system and get around them, too.

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