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In 1999 and 2000, immigrants in Los Angeles, California, and New York, New York were aurveyed about their status in the context of welfare reform, examining the living conditions of 3,447 immigrant families roughly 3 years after welfare reform was implemented and several months before the federal government issued guidance about the public charge implications of benefits participation. Results were augmented with follow-up interviews with 200 households, analysis of data about native-born families from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, and analysis of the Urban Institute's National Survey of America's Families. About 30 percent of immigrants were poor, and poverty rates were twice as high as rates for native citizens. Immigrants tended to have lower incomes despite high labor force attachment. Many respondents reported food insecurity; moderate hunger; trouble paying rent, mortgage, or utilities; and lack of health insurance. Relatively small shares of low-income immigrant families reported receiving benefits like food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or Medicaid. Nearly 40 percent of respondents did not completely understand program eligibility. Four appendixes present survey methodology; editing and imputation; measurement of food insecurity; and food stamp receipt, loss and reduction. (Contains 55 references, 30 tables, and 7 figures.) (SM)