Newsom’s budget plan saves vital programs for immigrants, but kids and hungry seniors may suffer

Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers agreed to a $297.7-billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, they preserved two vital programs serving thousands of immigrant Californians. “Immigrants are close to a third of the population, and trust me, they are not getting a third of the funding when it comes to services within the budget.” Kept: Cal State clinics offering legal help Newsom had proposed slashing funding for the CSU Immigration Legal Services Project from $7 million annually to $1.8 million for the upcoming fiscal year, but the budget plan preserves full funding for the program. The remaining attorneys wouldn’t have had the capacity to take on new clients, she said, and the program would have essentially “come to a full stop.” “The restoration of the California State University Immigration Legal Services Project is an investment in the future of California and its vibrant immigrant communities,” Eleni Wolfe-Roubatis, Immigrant Legal Defense co-director, said in a statement. “We applaud the legislature for standing firm against cuts that would have devastating consequences for vulnerable immigrant families throughout our state.” Kept: In-home care The budget agreement also rejects Newsom’s proposal to save nearly $95 million by cutting undocumented immigrants from the In-Home Supportive Services program. “For the last two years, the Children’s Holistic Immigration Representation Project has mobilized community support and resources to provide trauma-informed care and legal services to unaccompanied children and youth who call California home,” Hortencia Rodriguez Sandoval, director of community partnerships and state and local policy at the Acacia Center for Justice, said in a statement.