New $125m fund will support those ineligible for federal support, but who make up 10% of the state’s workforce, largely in essential services

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

California is launching a $125m disaster relief fund for undocumented immigrants, the first of its kind in the nation, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, announced on Wednesday.

Undocumented immigrants make up 10% of California’s workforce, Newsom said, but are ineligible for unemployment insurance, pandemic unemployment assistance and federal stimulus support.

“Regardless of your status, documented or undocumented, there are people in need,” Newsom said. “And this is a state that steps up, always to support those in need, regardless of status.”

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The governor noted that there was an overrepresentation of the undocumented workforce in essential services, “in the healthcare sector, in the agriculture and food sector, in the manufacturing and logistics sector, and in the construction sector”.

“We feel a deep sense of gratitude for people that are in fear of deportation but are still addressing the essential needs of tens of millions of Californians,” he said.

More than 2 million undocumented immigrants live in California, making up 6% of the state’s overall population. Last year, undocumented immigrants paid $2.5bn in local and state taxes, Newsom said. But still amid this crisis, many find themselves in the impossible situation of having to choose between healthcare and legal status, or continuing essential work without protections.

California contributed $75m of the $125m disaster relief fund for undocumented immigrants, with philanthropic groups such as the Emerson Collective, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the James Irvine Foundation, Blue Shield of California Foundation and the California Endowment providing the additional $50m.

The amount should allow for $500 to $1,000 in household assistance, which Governor Newsom acknowledged barely scratched the surface in a state with as high a cost of living as California. “I’m not here to suggest that $125m is enough, but I am here to suggest that it’s a good start and I am very proud that it is starting here in the state of California,” he said.

“I recognize that we still have more to do in this space,” Newsom said. “We will endeavor to find more areas of support in the next days and weeks and over the next year as we transition back to some version of normalcy.”

The relief fund comes as the number of Californians filing for unemployment insurance tops 2.7 million, Newsom said. The need for unemployment assistance has risen to a point that the governor signed an executive order launching a new call center to run 12 hours a day, seven days a week to handle the influx.

Newsom’s announcement was met with both applause and backlash, with the conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren calling the “fund for illegals” “unbelievable”.

Jose Antonio Vargas, journalist and founder of Define American, a not-for-profit that advocates for accurate representation of immigrants in the media, tweeted that other governors, particularly New York’s Andrew Cuomo, should take note.

“As an undocumented immigrant who was raised in California and call the Bay Area my home, thank you,” Vargas wrote to Newsom. “Thank you for remembering that undocumented Californians are an inextricable part of our state.”

There were 24,421 positive cases reported in California on Wednesday, with 821 deaths. On Tuesday, Newsom cautiously outlined the state’s next steps, saying that there was no specific timeline for when he will modify the stay-at-home order.