New citizens in California are nearly three times more likely to receive welfare than native-born residents, a dramatic difference that is not seen in other states with burgeoning immigrant populations, according to a new report by the U.S. General Accounting Office.
In addition to general welfare, the GAO -- the investigative arm of Congress -- has documented similar differences in the use of Medicaid, the nation's health insurance program for the needy.
In California, for instance, the number of citizens naturalized in fiscal years 1996 and 1997 receiving Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid program) was 23.7 percent, compared with 8.2 percent for native-born citizens. In Illinois, one of five states studied by the GAO because they have large numbers of immigrants, the difference was insignificant -- 7.5 percent for new citizens vs. 6 percent for the native-born.