Forgoing Food Assistance out of Fear: Changes to “Public Charge” Rule May Put 500,000 More U.S. Citizen Children at Risk of Moving into Poverty

The term “public charge” has been used by U.S. immigration officials for over a century to denote individuals likely to become dependent on government support. Historically, this concept has focused on cash benefits, but a recent Department of Homeland Security proposal would expand the public charge determination to include non-cash benefits such as public nutrition programs. Coinciding with this proposal is a surge in immigrant arrests, which has heightened fears among undocumented parents that seeking public benefits could jeopardize their immigration status. This study explores the potential impacts of these fears, simulating the effects of non-citizen parents forgoing SNAP and WIC benefits on child poverty among U.S.-born citizen children living in mixed-status households. Using 2016 Current Population Survey data and the Supplemental Poverty Measure, the study estimates that such a policy shift could significantly increase child poverty rates. The analysis highlights that nearly 90% of children in mixed-status households are U.S.-born and eligible for these benefits, emphasizing that the proposed changes could disproportionately harm these children by exacerbating poverty.

Suggested Citation:

Laird, Jennifer, Neeraj Kaushal, Jane Waldfogel, and Christopher Wimer. 2018. Forgoing food assistance out of fear: Changes to ‘public charge’ rule may put 500,000 more U.S. citizen children at risk of moving into poverty. Poverty and Social Poverty Brief, vol. 2, no. 2. New York: Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University.

Published on April 05, 2018.