Immigrants, Afraid of Losing Legal Status, Are Dropping Off Public Welfare Rolls

According to a new report from Politico, based off an analysis of federal WIC statistics, immigrants are dropping out of welfare programs out of fear that President Trump will soon penalize foreigners who take advantage of these public funds. Politico reported that “in at least 18 states,” WIC agencies have “seen drops of up to 20 percent in enrollment.” While the article presents this as yet another example of Trump vs. Every Minority In The Country, the good people at Politico will have to forgive us for seeing this as a win-win for the United States!

“Nearly two-thirds of WIC providers, from 18 different states, reported they have noticed a difference in immigrant WIC access in the wake of the news about potential changes in the public charge rules, according to a March survey by the National WIC Association,” Politico writes. “Seventeen of the agencies reported that participants had asked to dis-enroll or be deleted from WIC records.

“An agency in Longview, Texas, reported it’s losing an estimated 75 to 90 participants per month to public charge fears,” the article continues. “In Beacon, N.Y., an agency estimated it’s lost 20 percent of its caseload. In St. Louis, Mo., a provider said it’s seen a few dozen drop in the last year.”

While nothing has been made official quite yet, the Trump administration has been pushing for more than a year a rule that would allow federal officials to strip immigrants of their lawful resident status if they apply for government assistance. If implemented, temporary green card holders and other legal immigrants would be penalized if they take advantage of programs like Medicaid, WIC, and other forms of welfare. The theory behind the rule is that immigrants who get on these programs are likely on a path to becoming “public charges,” dependent for decades on the good graces of the American taxpayer.

If the Politico article is accurate (and this isn’t the first we’ve heard of this phenomenon), it would seem that the mere threat of making such a move has inspired thousands of immigrants to leave welfare behind. Now, one might wonder why they were accepting public assistance in the first place if it was so easy to abandon it, but then one would have to believe that everyone who takes a handout really needs it. Unfortunately, we know this isn’t the case.