Over 60 percent of illegal immigrant-led households and 51 percent of legal immigrant households received some sort of welfare benefits in 2024, compared with just 37 percent of natural-born citizen households taking taxpayer benefits, according to a new report from the Center for Immigration Studies.
The study, released on Wednesday, paints a concerning picture of welfare use by both illegal immigrants and natural-born U.S. citizens.
“If we wish to avoid high use of welfare by the foreign-born in the future, then moving to a system that selects immigrants based on their education or skills makes it much more likely they will earn higher incomes and not need welfare. Since more than one-fifth of all immigrant households using at least one welfare program are headed by an illegal immigrant, enforcing immigration laws and reducing the size of the illegal immigrant population would also be helpful in lowering future immigrant welfare use,” said the Center for Immigration Studies.
Researchers found that 61 percent of households headed by illegal immigrants, 51 percent of those headed by legal immigrants—whether naturalized citizens or visa holders—and 37 percent of natural-born citizen households received some sort of welfare.
Hellbound and Down 