Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.<\/p>\n
The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 \u2014 also known as the \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d \u2014 which Congress passed last year.<\/p>\n
The changes remove eligibility for certain noncitizens<\/a>, including people with refugee status and victims of trafficking. It also applies to immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special immigrant visas<\/a> for helping the U.S. government overseas.<\/p>\n \u200a\u201dThese are folks \u2026 many of whom have large families that we have a commitment to as a country because we welcomed them and invited them here to find a place of refuge,\u201d said Cambria Tortorelli, president of the International Institute of Los Angeles, a refugee resettlement agency. \u201cThey\u2019re authorized to work and they\u2019ve been brought here by the U.S. government.\u201d<\/p>\n Raising kids?<\/p>\n Our Early Childhood newsletter, focused on raising kids ages 0-5, is your place to get reads and resources on the topics most important to your family. <\/p>\n The federal spending bill, H.R. 1, made sweeping cuts to social safety net programs, including food assistance and Medicaid. In signing the bill, President Donald Trump said the changes were delivering on his campaign promises of \u201cAmerica first<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. The state estimates about 72,000 immigrants<\/a> with lawful presence will be affected across California.<\/p>\n