Study Finds Immigration Status Concerns Linked to Public Benefits Use

A study has found that undocumented immigration status and fears surrounding lack of documentation are barriers to benefit use, and such status is a common reason for public benefit disenrollment. The study, “Public Benefit Use and Social Needs in Hospitalized Children with Undocumented Parents,” which will be published in the July 2021 issue of Pediatrics (published online June 10), assessed immigration concerns and enrollment in Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) with an anonymous, cross-sectional survey of English- and Spanish-speaking caregivers of hospitalized children. Researchers asked whether families stopped services from WIC, SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Medicaid/CHIP due to concerns “about having immigration or citizenship problems.” Compared with families without undocumented parents, families with undocumented parents had higher levels of poverty and food insecurity. In families who perceived themselves to be eligible for benefits, families with undocumented parents had similar rates of public benefit use compared to families without undocumented parents (despite having double the prevalence of food insecurity). Twenty-nine percent of families with undocumented parents reported discontinuation of public benefits due to immigration concerns, and 71% reported fear of deportation. The study underscores the importance of social needs screening and referral services by pediatric health care providers, the authors conclude.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.