Number of Newly Arrived Aliens Who Receive Supplemental Security Income Needs To Be Reduced

Although the Immigration and Nationality Act has provisions directed at preventing newly arrived aliens from receiving public assistance, many do receive assistance, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI). About 37,500 newly arrived aliens in five States receive about $72 million in SSI benefits annually, and about $16 million of this is paid to refugees who are exempt from the act's public charge provisions.