California will be the first state to provide financial assistance for undocumented immigrant workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and who are not eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or unemployment insurance due to their immigration status, Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday.

During his daily press briefing, Newsom said the state is committing $125 million to undocumented workers through a public-private partnership, that will include $75 million in state funds for disaster relief assistance and additional $50 million pledged by a group of philanthropic partners.

“Even if there’s gaps, we can help begin to fill them,” Newsom said. “I’m not here to suggest that $125 million is enough. But I am here to suggest that it’s a good start and I’m very proud it’s starting here in the state of California.”

Approximately 150,000 undocumented adult Californians will receive a one-time cash benefit of $500 from the state fund, with a cap of $1,000 per household, to deal with “specific needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a release from the governor’s office.

“We applaud Governor Newsom for his bold and much-needed initiative,” Angelica Salas, Executive Director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) said in a statement. “This is a recognition of the fact that immigrant families are essential to our state. Their economic and labor contributions are keeping us going.”

According to data provided by the Employment Development Department to this news organization, more than $335 million was distributed to Californians receiving benefits from Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Unemployment Insurance on April 12 alone.

Nearly 10 percent of California’s workforce is made up of undocumented workers and Newsom said they are “overrepresented” in sectors that have been deemed essential such as healthcare, agriculture and food services and manufacturing and logistics. He noted that undocumented immigrants contributed $2.5 billion in state and local taxes last year.

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

Immigration advocates who have been calling on the legislature to provide aid to undocumented workers view Wednesday’s announcement as welcome news, but believe more can be done to help families who cannot access unemployment benefits.

“This is really going to help get some money into the hands of people who have been completely excluded from our social safety net that are getting really hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic,” Derek Schoonmaker, an attorney at the Oakland-based Centro Legal de la Raza. “At the same time, I think I and other advocates see this as a strong first step, but just that.”

The $50 million committed by private partners will be raised through a network known as Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. So far, the group has received $5.5 million in contributions from the Emerson Collective, Blue Shield of California, the California Endowment, the James Irvine Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and an anonymous donor, among other, according to the governor’s office.

“With the federal government and so many states failing to provide undocumented immigrants the economic and health supports all Americans deserve, I hope that corporations, foundations and individuals across the country will join us in providing the emergency relief these members of our community need to weather this challenging time,” Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective, said in a statement.

Schoonmaker believes the scale of the financial issues faced by undocumented workers will ultimately require more government action, but said advocates have also been working to find private donors willing to help. His team at Centro Legal de la Raza launched its own relief effort specifically for Oakland-based undocumented that has already raised approximately $400,000.

“If we are to be able to meet that need, we’d want to have over $1 million in the bank now and we know every day we’re seeing more applicants,” Schoonmaker said. “It’s definitely well over 2,500 already and the word is spreading mostly through word of mouth, in the community and there’s much need that’s unmet.”

Centro Legal de la Raza is trying to reach as many undocumented workers as possible, so Schoonmaker said the financial relief it will be able to provide each person that applies for aid is the same amount as what the government is supplying: $500.

“We know that that’s going to fall so far short of the need that folks have, but we want to get something into people’s hands and into a good number of people’s hands to help tide folks over in this time.”

Since the pandemic hit California, other grassroots financial assistance programs for undocumented workers affected by COVID-19-related job losses have been created in San Francisco and Sonoma County. A relief fund for local migrant youth was launched in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and Alameda counties and recently reopened its application process.