s are entitled to US welfare programs. In contrast, it has already been shown that working age immigrants actually has a lower welfare participation rate than natives. The reason that immigrants as a whole seem to use welfare programs more can be explained by the tremendous percentage of elderly immigrants now on welfare. While 6.9% of the native population over the age of sixty-five receive assistance from United States? welfare programs, 11.1% of legal, non-refugee immigrants over sixty-five years of age who arrived before 1980 receive welfare, and 25.7% of legal, non-refugee immigrants over sixty five years old that arrived from 1980 to 1990 receive benefits from US welfare programs. The United States welfare program, which contains SSI, food stamps, and Medicaid, among other programs, has become some sort of a global retirement system. The legal, working age immigrants may not have a negative effect on the state of welfare, but some of their older relatives do. If trends continue, 328 billion dollars will be spent from 1995 to 2004 to provide welfare for elderly non-citizens, and annual Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid cost for these immigrants will reach 67 billion in 2004. It appears that elderly immigrants drain from the welfare system, and since they are unlikely to have jobs (they are retired), they are not even close to being able to contribute enough in taxes to make up for what they take out of welfare programs, in particular SSI and Medicaid.Many households face rising costs in healthcare in terms of premiums and taxes to cover the costs of uninsured patients. Immigration as it is now is only adding to the problem. As much as 60% of the growth of uninsured people since 1993 is solely due to immigration. It is often argued that immigration of high-skilled workers hurts American households. However, foreign-born scientists and engineers do not increase US unemployment nor do they undercut wages. Even th...
