{"id":191001,"date":"2026-02-24T04:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/191001\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T04:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:48:10","slug":"california-expanding-services-for-immigrants-amid-trumps-deportation-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/191001\/","title":{"rendered":"California expanding services for immigrants amid Trump\u2019s deportation push"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a> on Friday announced the allocation of state funding to help immigrants impacted by detention and the Trump administration\u2019s massive deportation agenda. <\/p>\n

His office is releasing $35 million that the Legislature set aside in the state budget<\/a> to help philanthropic partners connect immigrant families with food assistance and other basic needs. <\/p>\n

The money comes in addition to funds California set aside to provide legal resources to immigrants facing deportation.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen federal actions create fear and instability, our responsibility is to show up for families. This investment strengthens local partners who are helping people access legal services and meet basic needs during an incredibly difficult moment,\u201d said Kim Johnson, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.<\/p>\n

California found money for the support despite serious budget constraints. Newsom\u2019s office expects a $2.9 billion deficit in the coming budget year, and the state limited health care<\/a> for unauthorized immigrants this year to help resolve a larger deficit in 2025. <\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Newsom said the governor has been hearing directly from immigrant families and community leaders. \u201cPeople are afraid to leave their homes, afraid to go to school or work, and unable to afford groceries,\u201d the spokesperson said. CalMatters has reported on families in farmworker communities<\/a> who are foregoing critical medical care. <\/p>\n

Assemblymember Carl DeMaio<\/a>, a Republican from San Diego, called the funding allocation \u201cabsurd.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were audited by the IRS and found to owe money and back taxes, as a citizen, you couldn\u2019t say, \u2019Well, I want a free lawyer to fight the federal government,\u201d said DeMaio. <\/p>\n

State Sen. Lena Gonzalez<\/a>, chairperson of the California Latino Legislative Caucus and a Democrat from Long Beach, said the funding signifies Democrats standing with immigrant families. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government is waging a war on our communities \u2013 and we won\u2019t stand for it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are putting money behind an effort to stop the fear, stop the separation of our families and stop violating our basic rights.\u201d <\/p>\n

President Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to carry out the largest deportation effort in U.S. history. He signed a budget bill in June that included $170 billion for immigration enforcement, detention, and deportation efforts over four years. That record-breaking federal investment is designed to facilitate the deportation of up to 1 million people per year.<\/p>\n

State funds earmarked for immigration legal services come with restrictions preventing money from being used to help people with serious or violent felony convictions fight deportations. California\u2019s sanctuary law does not prevent state corrections staff from transferring people who have been convicted of violent or serious felonies to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for deportation. <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

This story was originally published by CalMatters<\/a> and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced the allocation of state funding to help immigrants impacted by detention and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,536,457,18,75708,14,89565,76900,73780,13,6140,17,6141],"class_list":["post-191001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-donald-trump","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-general-news","tag-immigrant-detention","tag-immigration","tag-kim-johnson","tag-lena-gonzalez","tag-news-partner","tag-politics","tag-u-s-democratic-party","tag-u-s-news","tag-u-s-republican-party"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}