Immigrant use of public assistance and mode of entry: Demographics versus dependence

• Three entry modes produce populations with distinct demographics and service use.
• Soviet refugees who arrived from 1980 to 1995 still use Medicaid more than natives.
• Refugee arrivals (1980–1995) from Indochina, the USSR, and Cuba show unusual SSI use.
• For ages 18–64, SSI use is no greater for most refugee cohorts than for natives.
• Non-refugee entrants surpass natives more often in service use with low dependency.

A view that gained momentum in the 1990s, and which is sustained by some policy analysts and labor economists today, is that dependence on public assistance is greater for immigrants than for natives. Accordingly, this study investigates nativity differentials in the use of nine assistance programs, focusing on immigrant arrival cohorts within three distinct mode-of-entry proxy categories. The logistic regression analysis uses data from the 2013 CPS March supplement. To permit more nuanced interpretation, control variables are introduced hierarchically in a three-stage analysis. One new finding is that each of the three major regional-origin groups within the 1980–1995 refugee cohort—with an average length of residence exceeding two decades—sustains greater use of either SSI or Medicaid than natives. The study concludes that nativity differences in the use of public assistance continue to rest on the socio-demographic composition of three distinct populations, determined by mode of entry into the U.S.