Low-income immigrant families continue to avoid safety net programs in 2020 despite severe pandemic-related impacts

The Urban Institute conducted their Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey in December 2020 to evaluate the economic impact of the pandemic on lowincome families with different citizenship statuses. They split their sample into three categories: adults in families with naturalized citizens, adults in families with green card holders, and adults in families with nonpermanent residents. The findings revealed many low-income immigrant families reported loss of employment, food insecurity, and difficulty paying expenses. More than half were worried about affording their basic needs for the month. Yet amid this hardship, more than 25 percent of families did not seek government benefits for fear that it would jeopardize their immigration status or that they would be ineligible under the “public charge” rule. To address this disparity, the Urban Institute recommends that federal, state, and local organizations clarify communication around the public charge rule and other eligibility requirements, and that agencies and policymakers address administrate and logistical barriers to accessing benefits (e.g., language barriers). #covid-19 #racialequity #foodsecurity