47% of Immigrant Households with Young Children Get Food Stamps

As the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) run short of funding due to the government shutdown, more data is emerging on the extent to which immigrants are continually receiving such taxpayer-funded benefits. During an interview with Fox News, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins revealed that the agency had uncovered "thousands and thousands" of cases in which individuals defrauded the SNAP and WIC programs. This revelation is the result of the Department of Agriculture's request for states to turn over food stamp data to eliminate their use by illegal aliens. Rollins said only 29 states have granted the request. "What this conversation did was shine a national spotlight on a broken and corrupt program. We found one guy in about six different states who was receiving benefits, we found about 5,000 deceased people who were still receiving benefits," Rollins said. “It’s time to radically reform this program so we can make sure those who are truly needy and most vulnerable get what they need, and the rest of the corruption goes away and we can serve the American taxpayer.” Last year's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), analyzed by the Center for Immigration Studies, shows that a large number of households headed by immigrants — many of whom have U.S.-born children — receive SNAP and WIC benefits. In particular, 47 percent of immigrant households with children under the age of six receive SNAP or WIC or both. Compare that to just 31 percent of U.S.-born households headed by young children who receive the same benefits. Center for Immigration Studies “Many immigrants have modest levels of education and low income, so suspending WIC and SNAP will impact a large portion of this population,” write researchers Steven Camarota and Karen Zeigler. “This situation also raises important policy questions, including Does it make sense to have an immigration system that allows so many people who turn to taxpayers to support their children? » [Emphasis added] The analysis shows that Latino households headed by immigrants receive many SNAP and WIC benefits, as 65 percent of these households participate in at least one of the programs, while 28 percent participate in both programs. Among all immigrant-headed households with young children in the United States, including those who are naturalized U.S. citizens, 43% receive SNAP or WIC benefits. “These results indicate that immigrant communities will be hit hard if the shutdown continues,” the researchers note. “These results also serve as a reminder that once low-income immigrants settle in the country, it is very difficult to prevent their reliance on the welfare system. » John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.