Web-Based Access to Benefits for Immigrants and Mixed Status Families Webinar

According to the Census Bureau, in 2012 there were 40.8 million immigrants living in the United States, 13 percent of the total national population. This figure is a historic high, a growth of nearly half a million immigrants from 2011 to 2012, and 35 percent of immigrants make less than $25,000 per year, compared to 21 percent of native born workers. Additionally, a quarter of the child population, a total of 17.4 million children, live with at least one immigrant parent. Yet children with immigrant parents represent over 30 percent of children living in families below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.

Immigrant families face significant barriers to accessing programs they are eligible for.  As anti-poverty advocates, it is important to ensure that all people, especially those most vulnerable among us, have access to the resources they need in order to maintain healthy, productive lives. Online benefit applications are often a first step to accessing services needed and many immigrant families experience intentional and unintentional barriers in this process.  This webinar helps to identify some of those barriers and provides suggestions to creating systems that do not explicitly leave out immigrant populations. During this webinar, participants hear from Kevin Lindsey of First Focus, Avideh Moussavian of the National Immigration Law Center, and Shelby Gonzales of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

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This webinar was organized by the Coalition for Access and Opportunity, of which CLASP is a co-convener.