Date of Conferral

3-19-2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Raj Singh

Abstract

The contemporary U.S. welfare system, shaped by the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act and reinforced by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, established structural exclusions that bar lawful permanent residents (LPRs) from accessing core social welfare programs during their first five years of residency. Existing research provides support that exclusionary provisions caused economic instability, bureaucratic discrimination, and racialized stigma for immigrant participants, limiting access to basic needs, reinforcing poverty, and ultimately eroding trust in U.S. institutions. The purpose of this study was to bridge the gap in knowledge by examining the cumulative socio-economic and moral implications of the five-year restriction on LPRs. The theoretical framework for this study was Stronk’s theory of moral responsibility, fairness, and equal access to socio-economic resources. Research questions focused on the socioeconomic experiences of LPRs from Nigeria in Philadelphia during their denial of access to benefits for five years. A generic qualitative study design was employed, using purposeful semi-structured interviews of 12 Nigerians who were LPRs living in Philadelphia. Data from the interviews were coded and categorized using thematic analysis and constant comparison. Results indicated that the U.S. government’s failure to meet their obligation of providing socioeconomic resources to LPRs was a moral failure, was discriminatory, an unfair stigmatization, and a deliberate marginalization welfare policy against LPRs, which was a reinforcement of racial and economic inequities and healthcare disparities inimical to their integration in U.S. communities. The implications for social change include informing welfare policymakers and decision-makers of reforming U.S. Welfare laws for inclusivity and fairness by extending immediate eligibility for welfare benefits to tax-paying LPRs from their first day in the U.S.

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