E.g., 06/16/2026
E.g., 06/16/2026
Health Care & Welfare Benefits

Health Care & Welfare Benefits

_Health+Welfare

Health care and public benefits coverage for immigrants varies by country. In the United States, immigrants have extremely low rates of health insurance coverage and poor access to health care services—particularly those who lack U.S. citizenship. Labor migrants in different parts of the world may also face difficulty accessing care. Barriers to access to health care and public benefits has significant implications for immigrants, their children, and the broader society, as the research here explores.

Recent Activity

People hold Brazilian flags
Articles
A family takes a photo in Washington, DC.
Articles
Immigrants take the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony.
Girls in traditional Ukrainian attire.
Articles
Families from Venezuela in Trinidad and Tobago.
Articles
A woman and child at the Moldova-Ukraine border
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Reports
March 2024
By  Luisa Feline Freier, Andrea Kvietok and Leon Lucar Oba
People hold Brazilian flags

The United States is home to the largest Brazilian community outside Brazil. Still, Brazilians account for only about 1 percent of all U.S. immigrants. This population has grown rapidly in recent years, with nearly two-thirds of Brazilian immigrants arriving since 2010, as this article details.

A family takes a photo in Washington, DC.

Indian immigrants comprise the second largest foreign-born group in the United States, even though they tend to have arrived more recently. Immigrants from India tend to have considerably more education than other groups and roughly one-fifth live in California. This article offers a range of information about this diverse group. 

Immigrants take the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony.

This essential resource offers top statistics about immigration, immigrants, and the immigration system in the United States, drawing on authoritative sources and the latest data available. The article offers insights on the size and characteristics of the immigrant population, the scope of temporary and permanent immigration via all pathways, enforcement actions, and much more.

Girls in traditional Ukrainian attire.

The Ukrainian immigrant population in the United States grew significantly in the immediate aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Compared to the overall immigrant population, Ukrainians are more likely to be U.S. citizens and have higher levels of education. This article provides wide-ranging statistics on the size, U.S. settlement, and socioeconomic characteristics of this group. 

Families from Venezuela in Trinidad and Tobago.

Many Venezuelan migrants in Trinidad and Tobago have found that their situation is more complex than expected as the Caribbean country has largely adopted an enforcement-first approach. Many Venezuelan migrants face stigma and precarity—issues complicated amid escalating tensions between Venezuela and the United States, as this article details. 

Image of parents posing with daughter
Short Reads
November 2024
By  Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and Julia Gelatt
Image of the hands of two people at a desk going over paperwork
Short Reads
September 2022
By  Jonathan Beier and Essey Workie
Photo of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meeting with Afghan evacuees in Germany
Short Reads
September 2021
By  Mark Greenberg, Celia Reynolds and Essey Workie
Bhutanese refugee sits on bed in family's apartment in New York
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December 2020
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December 2020
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_DoctorsOfficePublicCharge
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March 2020
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A line drawing of a city landscape with people
Explainers
October 2024

Other than refugees, noncitizens in the United States face significant restrictions on access to federally funded public benefits, including programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, and cash assistance programs. This is particularly the case for unauthorized immigrants, who except in very limited circumstances are barred from all federally funded public benefits, as our explainer details.

Climate Change Is Making People Sick. Can Migration Help?
Expert Q&A, Audio
May 26, 2026

Leaving a climate-vulnerable place can potentially lead to better health outcomes for individuals, but only under the right circumstances. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration features economist and researcher Ilse Ruyssen, who discusses the intersection of climate change, migration, and health.

Three people talk outside
Video
January 23, 2025

Connecting with and providing counselling to irregular migrants is crucial for addressing irregular migration in Europe yet remains a challenging and underexplored area.

 family with baby daughter at home
Video, Audio
April 5, 2024

Speakers discuss the importance of infant and early childhood mental health services, highlighting approaches that have successfully connected immigrant and refugee families with beneficial and culturally relevant services. Speakers also offer recommendations to expand accessibility and responsiveness of these services.

Market on the dirt road, on a sunny day.
Video, Audio
November 16, 2023

This webinar examines the challenges that refugees and other migrants face in—and place on—secondary cities, municipal capacity to respond to needs, the types of support required at national and other levels, and how development actors can better partner with secondary cities and local actors.

USDA language access services website screenshot
Video, Audio
October 11, 2023

White House and Department of Health and Human Services officials join a leading language access advocate and MPI's Margie McHugh in a conversation exploring executive-branch efforts related to language access provision, upcoming actions, and opportunities to improve the provision of information and services in languages other than English in federal programs.

Recent Activity

Expert Q&A, Audio
May 26, 2026

Leaving a climate-vulnerable place can potentially lead to better health outcomes for individuals, but only under the right circumstances. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration features economist and researcher Ilse Ruyssen, who discusses the intersection of climate change, migration, and health.

Articles

The United States is home to the largest Brazilian community outside Brazil. Still, Brazilians account for only about 1 percent of all U.S. immigrants. This population has grown rapidly in recent years, with nearly two-thirds of Brazilian immigrants arriving since 2010, as this article details.

Articles

Indian immigrants comprise the second largest foreign-born group in the United States, even though they tend to have arrived more recently. Immigrants from India tend to have considerably more education than other groups and roughly one-fifth live in California. This article offers a range of information about this diverse group. 

Articles

This essential resource offers top statistics about immigration, immigrants, and the immigration system in the United States, drawing on authoritative sources and the latest data available. The article offers insights on the size and characteristics of the immigrant population, the scope of temporary and permanent immigration via all pathways, enforcement actions, and much more.

Articles

The Ukrainian immigrant population in the United States grew significantly in the immediate aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Compared to the overall immigrant population, Ukrainians are more likely to be U.S. citizens and have higher levels of education. This article provides wide-ranging statistics on the size, U.S. settlement, and socioeconomic characteristics of this group. 

Short Reads
January 2026

A Trump administration proposed rule that would give government adjudicators wide discretion in deciding when public benefits use can be held against green-card applicants and prospective immigrants could discourage many eligible households, including those with U.S.-citizen children, from accessing health, nutrition, and education supports—with significant implications for well-being, as this short read explains.

Articles

Many Venezuelan migrants in Trinidad and Tobago have found that their situation is more complex than expected as the Caribbean country has largely adopted an enforcement-first approach. Many Venezuelan migrants face stigma and precarity—issues complicated amid escalating tensions between Venezuela and the United States, as this article details. 

Articles

One of Europe’s poorest countries, Moldova has hosted more displaced Ukrainians per capita than any other nation. More than one-quarter of the nearly 7 million Ukrainians who fled since Russia’s 2022 invasion have passed through Moldova. This article provides an overview of the little country shouldering a disproportionate burden even as it is pulled between Russia and the European Union.