California could cut, delay services for undocumented residents in budget proposed by Newsom

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed eliminating a health service and delaying food benefits for undocumented Californians, yet again, in his new budget plan released Friday morning.

His proposed budget would cut funding for in-home supportive services for thousands of undocumented Californians starting in July and push back the expansion of the food assistance benefits until 2027. Newsom held back funding for the programs as his administration unveiled its $288 billion revised state budget and seek ways to close a projected $28 billion deficit without cutting programs that are already providing services to Californians.

The suggested cut and delay would save the state roughly $240 million, according to the governor’s budget plan.

“If the resources present themselves this would be a top priority to put back in and we would encourage the legislature to consider that as they consider this proposal itself,” said Newsom on Friday, referring to the food benefits delay.

But advocates expressed disappointment at the proposed cuts and delay, emphasizing the extreme need for these services.

Under Newsom’s budget plan, an estimated 14,000 Californians who are aged, blind and disabled would have home care services cut off due to their immigration status.

These services are often used as an alternative to nursing homes and for people to “live with dignity in their home,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California.

“Removing funding from these services could result in further impoverishment and increased state spending on expensive nursing home care,” Wright said. “This home care cut for immigrant families is not just picking on a particular population, but penny-wise and pound-foolish.”

The budget maintains health care benefits to undocumented immigrants in other ways, most notably sustaining funds for the Medi-Cal eligibility of all low-income undocumented age groups.

“I think that’s foundational, something I believe in,” Newsom said. “It’s a core of who I think who we are as a state and we should be as a nation.”

Newsom’s budget revisions would also postpone the expansion of the food assistance benefits by two years.

Implementation of the food benefits was expected to begin in October 2025. Immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status are currently not eligible for the state-funded version of food stamps, known as the California Food Assistance Program.

Nearly half of these Californians deal with food insecurity, according to an April 2022 report by Nourish California.

“We’re the fifth largest economy in the world and oftentimes unfortunately, and disproportionately, when we see budget cuts, they often target immigrants and communities of color,” said Masih Fouladi, executive director for the California Immigrant Policy Center.

It is the second straight year Newsom proposed such a delay.

Last year, Newsom proposed delaying the issuance of these food benefits to 2027. He later moved the issuance date back to 2025 following months of criticism from advocates.

“My hope and read on that is the governor sees how important having access to food for undocumented residents aged 55 and older is,” Fouladi said.