Hamutal Bernstein

In this brief, we use data from the Urban Institute’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey (WBNS) to assess exposure to and concerns about immigration enforcement in 2025 for immigrant and nonimmigrant families.

Writing in response to a request for comment from the Department of Homeland Security on the issue of “Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility,” Urban Institute experts raise concerns based on prior research that the proposed rule would reduce participation in essential health, nutrition, and other programs among low-income families with children, including many US citizen children.

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.