Children of Recent Immigrants: National and Regional Trends

Abstract

Sixty-five percent of the children of recent immigrants are low income. For these children, the challenges in academic, physical, emotional, and social development usually associated with economic insecurity are likely to be exacerbated by language barriers, the process of migration and acculturation, and restrictions on access to safety net programs. Two-thirds of children of low-income, recent immigrants live in the South and West, with an increasing proportion moving to the South. Nationwide, 85 percent of these children live with parents who are employed, and 71 percent live with married parents. Still, almost half (45 percent) of children of low-income, recent immigrants have parents who do not hold a high school degree, and 47 percent of these children are under age 6, placing them at risk for the negative impacts of low income on early development. Immigrant families limited access to the work supports and public benefits offered to other low-income families increases their financial and social vulnerability.