Brief Adults in Low-Income Immigrant Families Were Deeply Affected by the COVID-19 Crisis yet Avoided Safety Net Programs in 2020
Hamutal Bernstein, Dulce Gonzalez, Michael Karpman
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This analysis uses data from the Urban Institute’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, a nationally representative internet-based survey conducted in December 2020 to assess the chilling effects, hardships, and financial concerns reported by adults in low-income immigrant families. Our main findings are as follows:

  • In December 2020, adults in low-income immigrant families had suffered serious employment impacts from the economic crisis, had experienced high rates of food insecurity in the past year, and were worried about meeting their basic needs in the next month.
    • About half of adults in low-income immigrant families reported that the pandemic negatively affected their or a family member’s employment (51.8 percent).
    • More than 4 in 10 adults in low-income immigrant families (41.4 percent) reported food insecurity in the past year. More than 1 in 4 reported problems paying family medical bills (26.8 percent) or that a family member did not get needed medical care because of costs (25.7 percent) in the past year. More than 1 in 5 reported problems paying rent or a mortgage (21.7 percent) or utility bills (22.6 percent).
    • Many adults in low-income immigrant families reported being worried about paying for basic needs in the next month, including having enough to eat (43.2 percent) and being able to pay rent or a mortgage (50.8 percent), utility bills (49.1 percent), or medical costs (52.1 percent).
    • Adults in low-income immigrant families with green card holders and those in such families with nonpermanent residents were more likely than adults in families with naturalized citizens to be worried about meeting many of these needs in the next month.
  • Despite facing hardships, more than 1 in 4 adults in low-income immigrant families (27.5 percent) reported they or a family member avoided noncash benefits or other help with basic needs because of green card or other immigration concerns in 2020.
    • Adults in families with nonpermanent residents were more likely than adults in other low-income immigrant families to report these chilling effects (43.9 percent).
    • More than 1 in 8 adults in low-income immigrant families reported that someone in the family avoided a nutrition program (13.2 percent), almost 1 in 9 reported avoiding a health program (10.9 percent), and just under 1 in 10 reported avoiding a housing assistance program (9.8 percent).
    • Adults in families with nonpermanent residents were more likely to have experienced chilling effects for each type of assistance: 22.0 percent reported avoiding a nutrition program, 18.2 percent reported avoiding a health program, and 17.0 percent reported avoiding a housing assistance program.
    • Adults reported avoiding programs targeted by the expanded public charge rule, such as SNAP, but also avoided programs excluded from the rule, such as unemployment insurance, free or low-cost medical care for uninsured people, and emergency rental assistance.
Research and Evidence Health Policy Family and Financial Well-Being Tax and Income Supports
Expertise Families Social Safety Net Health Care Coverage, Access, and Affordability Medicare and Medicaid Immigration
Tags Families with low incomes Economic well-being Health equity Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program  Hunger and food assistance Immigrant access to the safety net Immigrant children, families, and communities Public health Federal, state, and local immigration and integration policy COVID-19 Immigrant communities and COVID-19 Mixed-status immigrant families