Nearly Half of Immigrant Households Take Government Welfare, Census Data Shows
Nearly half of households headed by immigrants in the United States receive welfare, according to a detailed analysis of Census Bureau data by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).
The report, based on the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), found that 47 percent of immigrant households, including legal and illegal immigrants, use one or more traditional welfare programs.
When tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Additional Child Tax Credit are included, the figure rises to 54 percent.
By comparison, 28 percent of U.S.-born households receive welfare, rising to 31 percent when those same tax credits are included.
The analysis covers major means-tested programs, including TANF, SSI, SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, public housing, and subsidized school meals, as well as refundable tax credits paid to low-income workers.
Researchers found that restrictions on non-citizens accessing welfare have only a limited effect.
“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.”
NEW DATA: Welfare use among non-citizens in the U.S. varies significantly depending on their country of birth and region of origin.
Non-citizens from Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East have the highest rates of welfare use.https://t.co/i1Nrhq4l0W
— Center for Immigration Studies (@CIS_org) March 18, 2026
They added that many legal immigrants qualify after years in the U.S., while some states provide benefits to otherwise ineligible migrants.
Welfare use varies sharply by the country and region of origin.
Rates reach 74 percent for households from Central America, 65 percent for the Caribbean, 53 percent for South America, and 51 percent for the Middle East.
Lower rates are recorded for Europe at 34 percent and South Asia at 19 percent.
At the country level, the highest rates are recorded for Afghanistan at 87 percent, the Dominican Republic at 78 percent, Guatemala at 77 percent, Honduras at 75 percent and Mexico at 67 percent.
Among the lowest are India at 16 percent, Canada at 21 percent, the United Kingdom at 25 percent, and South Korea at around 30 percent.
Separate reporting has found that in Minnesota, approximately 81 percent of Somali households receive some form of public assistance.
The analysis states that high welfare usage is not primarily driven by unemployment but instead by having children.
“Most are employed, but the relatively low education level of many and the resulting low incomes means they or their U.S.-born children often receive traditional welfare and/or are income-eligible for the EITC and ACTC,” it states.
Even among working households, 46 percent of immigrant-headed households use welfare, rising to 53 percent when tax credits are included.
The comparable figures for U.S.-born households are 27 percent and 31 percent.
The analysis also found a strong link between education levels and welfare use. A one-year increase in average schooling for a country of origin is associated with nearly a seven percentage-point drop in welfare use or eligibility.
The U.S. issues roughly one million green cards annually and admits about one million temporary workers each year, although the Trump administration has promised to reduce this figure.
Meanwhile, estimates of the illegal immigrant population range between 20 and 30 million.
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