In this brief, we examine challenges that immigrant families with children say they faced in meeting their basic housing, food, and health needs, as well as their immigration-related worries about seeking health care and participating in noncash basic needs programs, such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as of December 2024. We also examine concerns expressed about deportation and actions taken to prepare for potential changes in immigration policies.

Why This Matters

One in four children in the US, many of them US citizens, are growing up in immigrant families. Having access to basic needs supports that allow children of immigrants to reach their full potential is of paramount importance to their short- and long-term well-being and to the nation as a whole, which relies on their and their parents’ contributions to society and the workforce. As immigration and basic needs programs policies evolve, it will be important to monitor the impact of these policies on immigrant families with children. Doing so can help policymakers identify and implement policies that would mitigate harm.

What We Found

• Many immigrant families with children struggled to meet their basic food, housing, and medical needs in 2024, especially those in mixed-status families. Fifty-eight percent of mixed-status families with children reported one or more material hardships, such as food insecurity and problems paying medical bills, compared with 47 percent of adults in green card and citizen families with children, and 37 percent in all-citizen immigrant families with children. Among all immigrant families with children, food insecurity was the most commonly reported hardship (34 percent), followed by unmet need for medical care because of costs (22 percent) and problems paying family medical bills (19 percent).
• Despite high levels of hardship, many adults in immigrant families with children reported avoiding noncash government benefits, such as Medicaid and SNAP, due to immigration concerns. Among all adults in immigrant families with children, 18 percent avoided noncash government benefits because of worry about affecting future green card status. This avoidance was most common for adults in mixed-status families with children, at 29 percent, compared with 8 percent of adults in all-citizen immigrant families and 18 percent in green card and citizen families.
• In December of 2024, many adults in immigrant families with children reported that they were worried about seeking out health care because they did not want to draw attention to their or a family member’s immigration status. About 19 percent of all adults in immigrant families with children worried “a lot” or “some” about visiting a doctor's office, health clinic, or hospital because of not wanting to draw attention to their immigration status or that of a family member. Adults in mixed-status families with children reported this concern (38 percent) at higher rates than adults in all-citizen immigrant families (13 percent) and green card and citizen families with children (14 percent).
• Concern about deportation was prevalent among immigrant families with children, and many took steps to prepare for potential changes to a family member’s immigration status. Among all adults in immigrant families with children, 37 percent worried that they, a family member, or a close friend could be deported. This worry was highest among adults in mixed-status families. Twenty-three percent of adults in immigrant families with children took protective steps to prepare for changing immigration policies, including seeking legal advice (14 percent), obtaining or renewing important documents (14 percent), and renewing immigration status or applying for another status or citizenship (14 percent).

How We Did It

Our analysis draws on December 2024 data from the Urban Institute’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey, a nationally representative survey of adults ages 18 to 64. Data were collected from December 4 through 22, 2024. We focus on the sample of adults in immigrant families with children.