Senate Amnesty Plan Could Strain Welfare System

Senate Amnesty Could Strain Welfare System
Newest Data Shows Latin American Immigrants Make Heavy Use of Welfare

Center For Immigration Studies

WASHINGTON (June 6, 2007) As they debate legalization for illegal immigrants, Senators would do well to keep in mind the most recent data on welfare use by the people in question. According to the Department of Homeland Security, nearly 60% of illegal aliens are from Mexico and 80% of the total are from Latin America as a whole. A new Center for Immigration Studies analysis of 2006 Census Bureau data, which includes legal and illegal immigrants, shows use of welfare by households headed by Mexican and Latin American immigrants is more than double that of native households. Among the findings:

* 51% of all Mexican immigrant households use at least one major welfare program and 28% use more than one program.
40% use food assistance, 35% use Medicaid, 6% use cash assistance.

* 45% of all Latin American immigrant households use at least one welfare program and 24% use more than one program.
32% use food assistance, 31% use Medicaid, 6% use cash assistance.

* 20% of native households use at least one welfare program and 11% multiple programs.
11% use food assistance, 15% use Medicaid, 5% use cash assistance.

See full details, plus a table and data broken out for the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Texas, at:
http://www.cis.org/articles/2007/welfarerelease.html

For more information, contact Steven Camarota, Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies, at 202-466-8185 or sac@cis.org.