At his office in Cheyenne, Wyoming’s Chief Economist Wenlin Liu shuffled through a baffling array of papers on his desk. He was sorting through recent data about the state’s immigrant population.
“ For Wyoming, it's a small factor, only 3.5% is foreign born,” Liu said. “I think we are the fourth lowest. So we’re only higher than West Virginia, Montana and Mississippi.”
Liu said there’s about 20,000 foreign-born Wyomingites and maybe another 5,000 undocumented. But he points at numbers in the paperwork showing these residents aren’t as likely to rely on programs like SNAP or TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).
“Actually, when you come to the public assistance, they're much less. Maybe they’re not qualified, maybe they're not applying,” Liu said.
For example, 5.2% of locals use SNAP benefits while only 2.8% of immigrants do. Same goes for those relying on cash assistance like TANF. Less than a percent, 0.6%, of immigrants use it compared to locals at 1.6%. While 33.5% of locals rely on Social Security income, only 17% of immigrants do. Meanwhile, some state lawmakers are seeking to tighten proof of citizenship for public assistance programs.
Since Trump’s immigration crackdown, the numbers of immigrants in Wyoming and the U.S. have steadily dropped. But it’s not just a decline in foreign-born. Wyoming is dying faster and having fewer babies. Plus, the state has to compete with other states to attract domestic newcomers. In less than five years, Liu said, Wyoming will reach a zero population increase.
“If there's zero international migrants, that means the U.S. population is declining, which is not surprising right now. Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Italy and some Asian countries have already had their total population declining for some years. So the worldwide fertility rate continues to decline,” Liu said.
