Welfare Reform's Chilling Effects on Noncitizens: Changes in Noncitizen Welfare Recipiency or Shifts in Citizenship Status?

In the mid-1990s, welfare usage declined disproportionately among noncitizens, prompting some policy analysts to argue that the 1996 Welfare Reform Act (PRWORA) had a "chilling" effect on welfare receipt among eligible non-citizens. However, naturalization among noncitizen welfare recipients could account for the disproportionate decline. This article evaluates the role of naturalizations in producing the so-called chilling effect. Copyright (c) 2003 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.