Identifying and Addressing the Financial Needs of Immigrants

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working to identify and address the financial needs of immigrants and their families.

The United States is a nation of immigrants with more foreign-born residents – over 44 million – than any other country in the world. Though immigrants are extraordinarily diverse as a population, they have some common concerns in the consumer financial marketplace, particularly among low and moderate-income households whose needs are not well met due to a range of systemic barriers that diminish access, fair competition, and transparency. These barriers are particularly salient among the approximately 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States, over 60% of whom have lived here for over 10 years, as well as among new immigrant populations such as refugees.

For too many immigrants, challenges in consumer finance limit, slow, and frustrate the process of achieving full participation in American life. When immigrant consumers face systemic barriers and harmful practices, they are often unable to take the steps that advance toward home ownership, small business growth, and other wealth creation that ultimately benefit families and communities.

The CFPB has published more details in their June 27, 2022 blog.