A majority of “non-citizens” are on welfare, according to the Census Bureau.
Analyzing data from 2014, the bureau found that a whopping 63 percent of non-citizen immigrants are using a welfare program. Among immigrants who have been here for 10 years of more, that number rises to 70 percent.
Altogether, 4,684,784 of these non-citizen households are collecting welfare.
Conversely, just 35 percent of households made up of natural-born citizens are on welfare.
But that could be changing if President Trump gets his way: Trump wants to make it more difficult for immigrants to tap into U.S. welfare dollars.
“The Trump administration has proposed new ‘public charge’ rules making it harder for prospective immigrants to qualify for lawful permanent residence — green cards — if they use or are likely to use U.S. welfare programs,” explains the Center for Immigration Studies, in its report on the numbers.
“Concern over immigrant welfare use is justified, as households headed by non-citizens use means-tested welfare at high rates. Non-citizens in the data include illegal immigrants, long-term temporary visitors like guest workers, and permanent residents who have not naturalized. While barriers to welfare use exist for these groups, it has not prevented them from making extensive use of the welfare system, often receiving benefits on behalf of U.S.-born children,” the think tank added.
