US President Donald Trump•©️AFP
Washington, 5 January 2026.- President Donald Trump relaunched the debate on immigration by publishing, on Monday, January 5, an exhaustive list of the use of social assistance by country of origin. While Bhutan and Somalia dominate this world ranking, Haiti stands out with more than one in two households receiving US public support, illustrating the continuing precariousness of its diaspora.
A stocktaking without concession
In a recent publication on Donald Trump's Truth Social Network, Donald Trump released figures highlighting the share of immigrant households receiving government assistance in the United States. This document, which breaks down rates by country of birth, serves as an argument to the White House to justify a tightening of migration policies. At the top of the list, Bhutan (81.4 per cent) and Yemen (75.2 per cent) have record dependency rates.
The specific case of Haiti
For the Haitian community in the United States, the figures are particularly eloquent. With a rate of 52.3%, more than half of households born in Haiti receive some form of social assistance (health care, food coupons or direct support).
This figure places Haiti in an intermediate but worrying position:
- Regional comparison: Haiti has a higher rate than neighbouring countries such as Cuba (49.6%) or Jamaica (36.7%).
- Migration context: These data are used while temporary protection programmes (TPS) and « humanitarian speech »many Haitians are under intense political pressure.
African countries on the front line
The African continent is also strongly represented at the top of the table. Guinea, with 65.8 per cent, ranks 8th in the world and on the African podium, just behind Somalia (71.9 per cent) and the Congo (66.0 per cent). These statistics highlight the economic integration challenges faced by nationals of countries experiencing political instability or protracted humanitarian crises.
W.A.
