Measuring immigrant participation in public benefits

There is no clear consensus among researchers on how best to measure immigrant participation in U.S. public benefit programs, even though the issue shapes public perception of government assistance, affects estimates of immigration’s fiscal impact, and informs policy debates.

Using their recommended estimation method, Sasha Snyder and Tara Watson find that immigrants use benefits at lower rates than citizens, despite being more concentrated at the bottom of the income distribution, where these programs are targeted. The persistence of lower benefit use among low-income non-citizens suggests that existing eligibility restrictions already meaningfully limit program access for immigrants.

Assessing the federal actions affecting immigrants and their families. Mark Greenberg offers some historical background on non-citizens' eligibility for federal benefits and discusses the potential effects of new restrictions created through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and executive orders, as well as stated administration intentions to further restrict access to services and assistance.

Why so few non-citizens try to vote. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act—the SAVE Act— would require Americans to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Elaine Kamarck argues that existing registration requirements already make noncitizen voting exceedingly rare, and that additional documentation requirements could create new barriers for eligible voters.

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