Proponents of lax U.S. immigration policies often laud immigrants as hard workers coming to the U.S. to do jobs that American citizens are simply unwilling to take. But a new online study shows that those immigrants are also more willing to sign up for social welfare benefits than many Americans.
According to the survey conducted by Neilson, 53 percent of immigrants in the U.S. report having signed up for some form of welfare since arriving in the country. That includes 40 percent of members of foreign-born households who are on food stamps and 42 percent who are using Medicaid.
By comparison, 48 percent of native-born Americans use social welfare benefits. That includes 22 percent who are on food stamps and 23 percent on Medicaid.
The results are in line with a similar analysis we told you about in September:

The conservative-leaning Center for Immigration Studies says in a recent “analysis of Medicaid, cash, food and housing programs” that more than 60 percent of U.S. households headed by illegal immigrants are reliant on government assistance.
According to the report examining welfare benefits in 2012, 62 percent of illegal immigrant households received some sort of government benefits. The most prevalent handouts to the group came through food assistance programs and Medicaid care for their U.S.-born children.
“Households headed by immigrants illegally in the country have higher use rates than native households overall and for food programs (57 percent vs. 22 percent) and Medicaid (51 percent vs. 23 percent),” states the report. “Use of cash programs by illegal immigrants is lower than use by natives (5 percent vs. 10 percent), as is use of housing programs (4 percent vs. 6 percent).”

And despite what immigration proponents on the left would have you believe, allowing destitute immigrants into the country and placing them on the social welfare doles doesn’t exactly help the pull themselves into the middle class.
According to the Nielson numbers, 48 percent of immigrant families who opted into social welfare programs were just as likely to continue to meet need requirements for the programs after two decades in the country.