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Almost half of all immigrant households in the US, legal and illegal, are on one or more forms of government welfare.
New analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reveals that 47% of households headed by immigrants are receiving government welfare.
The analysis uses Census Bureau data from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
When data are adjusted to include the Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit, the percentage of immigrant households on welfare rises to 54%.
By comparison, just 28% of households headed by native-born Americas are on welfare; or 31% when tax credits are included.
Breitbart reports, “Countries with the highest welfare-users in the U.S. include Afghanistan, 87%, the Dominican Republic, 78%, Guatemala, 77%, Honduras, 75%, and Mexico, 67%.
“Meanwhile, immigrant households from Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, and India have the lowest welfare usage among the nation’s immigrant population.”
The CIS researchers note that restrictions on immigrants accessing welfare programs “have not prevented a large share of non-citizen-headed households from accessing the welfare system.”
“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,” they continue.
“These facts coupled with the large share of non-citizens who have modest levels of education and their resulting low incomes mean many can use means-tested anti-poverty programs.”
Each year the US hands out green cards to around a million legal immigrants, and another million foreign nationals arrive on temporary work visas.
Estimates for the US illegal population vary wildly, but it’s generally agreed that it numbers in the tens of millions.
