Gov. Newsom is again vetoing a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to get unemployment benefits. He had previously vetoed measures that would allow them to apply for help with buying a home and for undocumented students to be able to work on campus. Political analysts say he is playing it safe on a contentious issue
by Jeanne Kuang
CalMatters
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today that he vetoed a bill ordering the state to explore the possibility of extending unemployment benefits to undocumented workers, dashing the hopes of advocates who have campaigned since the COVID pandemic for the expansion. The veto of SB 227 marks the second time he has blocked the idea, and the third time this month he has denied opening state programs to undocumented immigrants.
Last weekend, Newsom rejected a bill allowing undocumented students to access jobs on University of California and California State University campuses, citing legal concerns. And earlier this month, he vetoed an expansion allowing undocumented Californians to apply for state first-time homebuyer assistance, a program that was unfunded.
In his veto message for the unemployment bill, Newsom wrote that it “sets impractical timelines, has operational problems, and requires funding that was not included in the budget.”
The vetoes come amid increasingly hostile rhetoric on immigration during the presidential election.
After Republican lawmakers criticized the home-buying bill during the session, it went viral on conservative media outlets and attracted the attention of billionaire Elon Musk, who wrote on his social media platform X that the state was incentivizing immigration with the promise of state benefits. Musk backs former President Donald Trump, who has made illegal immigration his signature issue.
Newsom wrote that the campus jobs bill was too risky, given that federal law prohibits hiring undocumented immigrants. His veto message suggested that advocates seek legal protection in court before pushing the legislation.
Ahilan Arulanantham, a UCLA law professor and one of the architects of a novel theory arguing for why UC can legally hire undocumented students, said he “couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a major Democrat with a national profile block any opportunity for undocumented youth.”
Mike Madrid, a Republican consultant, said vetoing those bills is a safe political move for Newsom when Democrats nationally are perceived to be weak on border security. Vice President Kamala Harris’ rightward tilt on immigration has helped narrow that gap in the polls in key states, Madrid said, but he described any immigration-related bill as too volatile for Newsom to touch.
“For a California governor to sign something that would not be popular in those states in an area where she has only just begun to close the gap would be very problematic politically,” he said. “I suspect the bigger consideration is, ‘Could this affect the race for the White House?’”
Newsom’s office declined to comment. “The veto messages speak for themselves,” spokesman Brandon Richards said earlier this week.
But in his veto message, the governor also sought to deflect criticism, noting in his veto letter to the unemployment bill that the state “has taken important steps to advance inclusion and equity for undocumented workers and mixed-status families who contribute significantly to California’s economy and local communities.”
Not all political observers are convinced. Andrew Acosta, a Democratic strategist, said there were other “issues” with the bills, such as costs, and said the GOP already uses California to attack Democrats on immigration.
“Ninety percent of what happens in the state of California is tied to the budget,” she said. “If Donald Trump wants to make California a debate issue, he has plenty of material to support. These three bills are not going to make or break the campaign.”
Unemployment insurance was one of the last expansions that advocates hoped California would undertake during a series of budget-rich years when the state committed billions of dollars to extend important safety net programs to undocumented residents.
The state is home to more than 1.8 million undocumented immigrants, who have become eligible for driver’s licenses, the earned income tax credit and, recently, access to Medi-Cal. During the pandemic, the state created a disaster relief program for immigrants and lawmakers allowed immigrants to receive some state stimulus checks.
But the state’s budget deficit has slowed the process. State food assistance benefits for immigrants over 55 were set to be expanded next year, but will be delayed until 2027.
Yeni Linares, an undocumented worker from Fontana who campaigned for expanded unemployment, said that when her work dried up during the pandemic, there was no lifeline.
She said her job cleaning houses and office buildings was cut from five to three days a week, and she made just $80 a day. Her family lost their car and apartment, so they moved into a relative’s house, where four families lived under one roof. During the move, she never received a check.
“The government completely abandoned me,” said the 47-year-old, who has worked as a housekeeper for 19 years. “It’s not easy for an undocumented family to recover from such a huge shock. For us, the pandemic never ended.”
Though the proposal was born in the wake of the pandemic, advocates say it can also help as climate change exacerbates job instability for vulnerable workers. Farmworkers are losing days of work during storms and periods of extreme heat, and domestic workers during wildfires. Linares said she has missed work for two weeks straight this year as wildfires have swept through the mountains north of San Bernardino, where she cleans houses.
The bill was the second attempt by activists to get Newsom to approve unemployment benefits.
In 2022, he vetoed a similar bill, saying there was no money for the program. The unemployment insurance system is funded by state and federal taxes on employers; since the pandemic, California’s system is $20 billion in debt. Because of federal restrictions, state dollars would likely be needed to fund a similar program for immigrants.
Civil rights advocates tried again this year. The bill, which originally sought to give undocumented workers who lost their jobs up to $300 a week in benefits for up to 20 weeks, was watered down at the end of the legislative session to instead direct the Employment Development Department to study the matter and determine how to expand the program, including finding a funding source.
The bill’s author, Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, said in August that she hoped this might prompt the department to consider undocumented workers as it undertakes a technological overhaul of the unemployment system.
Before the veto, Linares criticized Newsom for delaying his decision and called the political rhetoric around immigration an “injustice.”
“We’re fed up with this,” she said. “We’re not asking for anything for free. We see it as something we’ve earned through our work.”
CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn contributed to this story
This article was originally published in English by CalMatters.
