Los Angeles, CA -The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the largest immigrant rights organization in California, reacted today to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Revised Budget announcement.
Please attribute comments to Angelica Salas, CHIRLA Executive Director.
“Today Governor Newsom released his revision to the state’s proposed budget plan, also known as the May Revise. We understand that difficult decisions must be made to address the state’s budget deficit, however, we must continue to protect the investments made to programs that benefit immigrants, undocumented, and low-income communities.
Over the course of the last few years, California has made historic investments and expansions to programs that benefit undocumented Californians. These investments where a result of years’ worth of advocating and finally recognize the contributions and humanity of undocumented immigrants. Now more than ever, we cannot turn our backs on undocumented immigrants who have worked hard to make these investments a reality. We cannot walk back on these investments just as we begin to see the significant positive impact programs geared towards supporting immigrant and undocumented are having on our community members.
We appreciate the continued commitment to expanding Medi-Cal to undocumented Californians. For the first time ever this year, all Californians were able to access Medi-Cal and we are certain we will see the insurmountable benefit access to healthcare will have on our communities. However, the undocumented community continue to face serious challenges. We are concerned to see the delay in expansion of the California Food Assistance program and concerned to see the lack of additional investments for immigrant and undocumented communities. Time and time again, we have seen that when we prioritize the needs of vulnerable Californians, the return on investment is tenfold.
As we address the budget deficit, we must ensure we keep an eye on equity and work to ensure that as the state makes difficult decisions to balance the state budget, that these changes are done in a manner takes into consideration needs of the most vulnerable.
The immigrant and undocumented community is vibrant and resilient, but we cannot continue to push the needs of the immigrant community to the side in times of economic uncertainty. Our state budget must continue to send a strong message to immigrants within California and across the nation, one that continues to recognize the humanity and contribution of immigrants.
We look forward to working together during these tough times and firmly believe it is possible to address the state’s budget deficit and preserve critical programs that benefit the immigrant, undocumented and low-income communities.”
