At the intersection of immigration and welfare governance in the United States: State, county and frontline levels and clients’ perspectives

Abstract

The U.S welfare reform of 1996 restricted the eligibility of immigrants and introduced a punitive and devolved workfare system. While previous studies explained state variation in the welfare eligibility rules for immigrants, few studies have examined the intersection of immigration and welfare governance within a state. We choose the Californian welfare-to-work (WTW) program as a case, most likely to be inclusive to immigrants. Analyzing statistics, documents, and interviews at the state, county, and frontline levels, however, we also reveal multiple exclusionary mechanisms at various policy levels, such as complicated processes and insufficient translations. Our analysis of immigrant clients’ interviews helps to understand why many immigrants decide not to apply for welfare and how even WTW participants with an immigration background experience fear and are especially vulnerable to unfair treatments. Thus, the implementation of the punitive workfare regime along with the restrictive immigration regime can contradict the aim of WTW-policy to lead families in poverty to selfsufficiency.

Immigrant children in the child welfare system.

“…Policies about immigration and access to welfare systems for immigrants are constantly evolving, leading to confusion and inconsistent implementation. Lanfranconi et al (2020) examined the inclusionary and exclusionary mechanisms that are imposed through regimes, practices, and discourses at multiple levels of policy implementation. The study revealed the complex situation whereby welfare workers helping immigrants to obtain services express uncertainty whether they are really helping, or potentially harming, their clients under the public charge ruling.…”

“…A common attitude among immigrants and their children is wanting to conform to the U.S. norms of work ethic and self-sufficiency. Recent immigrants, especially first-generation immigrants, display self-motivation to find a job as quickly as possible and comply with interventions (Lanfranconi et al, 2020). Involvement with the welfare system could be construed as a weakness and a source of shame, so immigrants might work very hard to succeed, gain pride, support other families back home relying on their aid, and avoid unpleasant encounters with welfare agencies.…”

“…Involvement in law enforcement could trigger deportation, separation from family members, or count negatively under the "public charge" policy and lose the possibility of legal permanent residency. A fear of wrongdoing could lead to a high level of compliance with welfare workers, especially among first-generation immigrants (Lanfranconi et al, 2020). Immigrants want to comply with the rules and seem self-motivated to comply in order to avoid sanctions, even if they feel treated unfairly.…”

Becoming Job-Ready? Narratives of Local Welfare-to-Work Programs and Client Experiences Across Differing Economic Contexts in California

“…This study uses data that were collected as a part of a broader mixed-methods study on "Social Equity Within California's WTW Pro-gram" (see Chang et al, 2020;Lanfranconi & Basaran, forthcoming;Lanfranconi et al, 2020aLanfranconi et al, , 2020b. The study adopts a qualitative comparative case study design by juxtaposing two "most different" cases (Flyvbjerg, 2006).…”