💡 New from us: An IDR explainer, an updated state safety net interactive, public benefits restrictions and usage for immigrants, EITC and CTC reforms, and more
Amid major changes to the federal student loan system, Sarah Reber and Sarah Turner examine the history and purpose of income-driven repayment (IDR) plans and the transition to the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), which will eventually replace most existing income-driven repayment plans. The authors argue that RAP simplifies repayment by tying payments to income, waiving unpaid interest, and reducing principal balances, but caution that the transition will be challenging for a significantly downsized Federal Student Aid office and may create hardships for some borrowers through its $10 minimum monthly payment and reduced access to forbearance.
Janina Curtis Bröker, Gabriela Goodman, Lucie Schmidt, Lara D. Shore-Sheppard, Sasha Snyder, and Tara Watson published an updated release of the State Safety Net Interactive, which provides an index of safety net generosity for a representative sample of families across states. The new release incorporates Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), adds married and two-parent unmarried (partnered) families with children, and extends the data series through 2024. In an analysis of the updated data, Sasha Snyder, Lillian Beaudet, and Tara Watson explain that cash and food assistance have grown modestly over the past few decades, and the composition of the safety net has shifted away from traditional cash assistance and toward in-kind benefits and refundable tax credits.
In their methodological guide and accompanying estimates, Sasha Snyder and Tara Watson develop a preferred method for measuring immigrant public benefit use and present findings using that approach. They show that estimates of immigrant benefit participation can vary substantially depending on methodological choices. Using their preferred approach, they find that public benefit participation rates for non-citizens are lower than for citizens across nearly all programs.
Research by Mark Greenberg examines Trump administration policies that restrict access to public benefits for non-citizens. He finds that proposals framed as targeting "welfare for illegal immigrants" often affect a much broader population. The proposals would narrow eligibility among immigrants with legal status for programs including SNAP, Medicaid, Medicare, Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, and the Child Tax Credit, while broadening interpretations of the 1996 PRWORA to limit access to additional federal benefits. Greenberg also highlights policies that would deny federally assisted housing to mixed-status families and expand the scope of public charge determinations, discouraging eligible citizens and non-citizens from enrolling in benefits.
In a new analysis, Sarah Calame and Tara Watson propose reforms to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). The EITC is a wage subsidy for low-income workers, with the largest benefits going to families with children, while the CTC provides tax relief to families with children; many families with children receive both. Calame and Watson argue against fully separating the worker credit from the child credit. They recommend adopting a primary caregiver standard that would designate a child's primary caregiver at birth, expanding the CTC for low-income families while phasing the credit out sooner, and increasing the EITC for workers without qualifying children.
In a new study, Dan Berger, Michael Clemens, Stephen Yale-Loehr, Taylor Joseph, and Ezra L. Brown examine the Department of Homeland Security's new duration of status (D/S) rule. D/S currently allows foreign nationals to remain lawfully in the country while completing their program or degree. The new regulation would instead admit these visa holders for a fixed period up to four years and would require them to apply and pay a fee for permission to stay longer. The authors argue this rule will hurt the U.S. economy, STEM workforce, academic institutions, and healthcare system, and they urge Congress to hold hearings on its effects.
