About half of immigrant households on welfare, report says

Article CAIRCO note: 
“[Collecting welfare] shouldn’t be seen as a moral failing on the part of immigrants, but reflective of what happens when you let lots of people who have modest levels of education in a modern society,” Camarota said ...
Article publisher: 
USA Today
Article date: 
3 September 2015
Article category: 
National News
Medium
Article Body: 

More than half of the nation's immigrants receive some kind of government welfare, a figure that's far higher than the native-born population's ...

About 51% of immigrant-led households receive at least one kind of welfare benefit, including Medicaid, food stamps, school lunches and housing assistance, compared to 30% for native-led households, according to the report from the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for lower levels of immigration.

Those numbers increase for households with children, with 76% of immigrant-led households receiving welfare, compared to 52% for the native-born.

The findings are sure to fuel debate on the presidential campaign trail as Republican candidates focus on changing the nation's immigration laws, from calls for mass deportations to ending birthright citizenship.

Steven Camarota, director of research at the center and author of the report, said that's a much-needed conversation to make the country's immigration system more "selective."

"This should not be understood as some kind of defect or moral failing on the part of immigrants," Camarota said ...