Blog: New Data on Migrant Welfare Use

Cato recently published a new report comparing welfare consumption by immigrants and native-born, drawing from survey data.

The results are similar to past findings. Immigrants tend to consume less in total dollars, 21% less according to this report. But why do some other organizations consistently find different results? The Center for Immigration Studies, for instance, found that 20% more immigrant-headed households used welfare compared to native-headed households.

There are a few things worth mentioning, like looking at individual use vs head of household, or evaluating usage rates vs dollars consumed, but the biggest difference, in my opinion, is CIS completely ignores Social Security and Medicare. These 2 programs have huge payouts relative to other programs, and immigrants are less likely to be recipients. As you can see in the above chart, welfare consumption in other programs is fairly close, but include the big 2, and native-born Americans jump ahead in consumption of government payments.

Personally, I see no reason why SS shouldn’t be thought of as a welfare program. The idea that beneficiaries are just getting their money back is absurd.

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