RSF trustee Hirokazu Yoshikawa and author Ajay Chaudry (New York University) have authored a new report with several colleagues at NYU’s Institute of Human Development and Social Change. The report examines the challenges facing low-income immigrant families in the United States and offers strategies for increasing these families’ access to social safety net benefits in the wake of the Trump administration’s plans to change the public-charge rule, which would likely deter many immigrants from using public benefits out of fear of deportation or family separation. 

“The current administration’s immigration and enforcement policies have created a climate of fear and harm to children’s development—not only from the well-known separations of children from parents, but from more pervasive threats to children’s access to safety-net programs,” Yoshikawa said in a statement on the release of the report. “Policymakers and practitioners can take concrete steps to protect millions of children in immigrant families.”

The report identifies five significant long-standing barriers low-income immigrant families face when attempting to access social services: ineligibility due to their immigration status, lack of transportation and physical mobility, language barriers, fear of deportation and family separation, and the resulting “chilling effect,” which refers to the indirect effects of new polices which can sometimes reduce eligibility for certain categories of immigrants. To combat these barriers, the report offers twelve strategies that would help immigrant families gain access to public benefits, including the following recommendations:

• Simplify enrollment in public benefits at the state level by linking enrollment process for multiple programs. Applicants qualified for one program are often qualified for and apply to another for a different service (e.g. the same person can apply for WIC, SNAP, and Medicaid/CHIP).
• Develop partnerships between government and community-based organizations (CBOs). Since CBOs are embedded within local communities, they are well-positioned to perform outreach. For example, Massachusetts previously contracted with CBOs to provide SNAP application assistance and outreach. This proved effective.
• Create ‘Offices of Immigrant Affairs’ that serve as executive coordinating agencies dedicated to overseeing policy implementation, interagency relations, and public outreach on state benefits for immigrants to better protect themselves and provide for their families. New York City and Los Angeles both have such offices.

Yoshikawa and Chaudry are child development experts and co-authors with Taryn Morrissey (American University) and Christina Weiland (University of Michigan) of the RSF book Cradle to Kindergarten, which offers a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy for increasing accessible early education for all children in the U.S.

Read the full report from NYU’s Institute of Human Development and Social Change.