A shocking new Census Bureau study has revealed that 63 percent of the non-citizens living in the U.S. are taking advantage of welfare programs that were designed to help Americans who are struggling financially or ill. The finding gives a lot of weight to arguments in favor of taking steps like building a wall to prevent illegals from entering.
According to the analysis of the data by the Center for Immigration Studies, not only are 63 percent of non-citizens using such programs, but among those who have been in the country for a decade or longer, that figure rises to 70 percent. This appears to indicate that once immigrants get on welfare, they stay there. The term “non-citizens” in this case refers to illegal immigrants, permanent residents who have yet to become naturalized, and long-term temporary visitors such as guest workers.
The report says that nearly 4.7 million non-citizen households receive welfare, and most of them – nearly 4.4 million – have at least one worker in their household. Half of them are in the country illegally.
When you compare the data for households headed by non-citizens to those headed by citizens, a large gap can be seen. In 2014, 63 percent of the households headed by non-citizens reported using at least one welfare program; the figure for native-headed households was just 35 percent. The trend is similar food programs, with 45 percent of non-citizen households and 21 percent of native households receiving benefits. Meanwhile, when it comes to Medicaid, 50 percent of non-citizen households and 23 percent of natives are getting the benefits.
Most legal immigrants – such as green card holders – cannot receive most welfare programs, nor can illegal immigrants and temporary visitors. However, there are lots of ways around this, with one of the most popular being illegal immigrants and other non-citizens getting benefits on behalf of their children who were born in the U.S. and are therefore fully eligible for welfare.
For those who are skeptical of these figures because of the Center for Immigration Studies’ stance on immigration, Investor’s Business Daily points out that a different study published last year by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine also determined that immigrants have a far greater likelihood of accessing welfare than native-born Americans.
The land of handouts
This fall, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a rule that would block immigrants from receiving permanent residency if they get welfare benefits. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said: "This proposed rule will implement a law passed by Congress intended to promote immigrant self-sufficiency and protect finite resources by ensuring that they are not likely to become burdens on American taxpayers."
There are other factors to consider as well. For example, non-citizens are significantly more likely than natural-born and naturalized citizens to be uninsured, with rates of 24 percent versus 7.5 percent and 8.9 percent respectively. What happens when these uninsured non-citizens need healthcare? Emergency rooms must treat all who enter, and the unpaid bills are passed on to everyone. The costs are significant; when the number of illegal immigrant workers in Arizona fell 40 percent from 2007 to 2013, ER spending on non-citizens dropped a remarkable 37 percent from $167 million to $106 million during the same period.
Non-U.S. citizens are costing the rest of the country a significant amount of money. They’re twice as likely to be getting welfare benefits and three times as likely as citizens to be uninsured. What was once the land of opportunity has now become the land of handouts. If something isn’t done to stem this problem, there simply won’t be any money left.
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