Obama's America: While 20.5% of white and 27.9% of Asian households receive some form of means-tested benefits, 50.9% of black households and 53.3% of Hispanic households receive welfare assistance

The figure for Hispanic households should dispel any notions that the Republican Party will gain any advantage from immigration reforms that increase the size of this voting bloc. Communities with a high dependence on welfare will vote for the party that promises to keep the benefits flowing. There is a reason every Democrat in Congress supports comprehensive immigration reform that would open a path to the voting booth to those who came into the country illegally. And for those in the business world (or who look to the business world for guidance) who think "cheap labor" is truly inexpensive, the Census figures show again that taxpayers subsidize the "working poor" who do not earn subsistence incomes. Research done at the Heritage Foundation, particularly by Robert Rector, successfully countered the propaganda of the Chamber of Commerce on this point the last time immigration reform was pending, and should do so again.