Living arrangements and Supplemental Security Income use among elderly Asians and Hispanics in the United States: the role of nativity and citizenship

In this analysis we compare the living arrangements and receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) among older, non-institutionalised adults in five Asian and three Hispanic-origin groups in the United States. Living arrangements and SSI serve as indicators of structural incorporation and our primary objective is to identify the role of nativity (native versus foreign-born) and citizenship status (non-citizen versus naturalised citizen) on living arrangements and SSI receipt. We are also interested in identifying differences among these eight groups. In order to do so, we employ a combined sample from the 3 per cent 1990 United States Public Use Sample (PUMS) and a 5 per cent sample of individuals over 65 (PUMS-O) to achieve adequate coverage. The data reveal great diversity among the eight groups, but also reveal substantial similarity between naturalised citizens, that is, those who are foreign-born but who have become citizens, and the native-born. Our findings suggest that the process of structural incorporation is well under way among the naturalised foreign-born, and that it is important to differentiate between citizens and non-citizens in developing immigration and welfare policy. It is also increasingly clear that in the US context we must begin to differentiate among Asian-origin groups in the same way that we do among Hispanic groups in social scientific research.