California allocates $35 million to support illegal immigrants, Newsom said

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an allocation of $35 million to support illegal immigrants as the Trump administration pursues its massive deportation agenda.

Newsom’s office is releasing money the legislature has set aside from the state budget to help partners in assisting immigrant families with food and other services, according to a press release.

These funds are in addition to funds already allocated by the state to provide legal services to those facing deportation.

“While the federal government is looking out for hard-working families, California is standing with us — rallying our partners and funding local communities to help support their neighbors,” Newsom said in the release. “The urgent need grows as the Trump Administration accelerates mass incarceration, tramples on due process, and funds law enforcement by more than $170 billion. As the Trump Administration chooses brutality and chaos, California chooses community.”

Newsom’s spokesman said he had been speaking with immigrant families and community leaders about the government’s crackdown on immigrants.

“People are afraid to leave their homes, they’re afraid to go to school or work, and they can’t buy groceries,” said a CalMatters spokesperson.

California allocated the money despite major budget problems, as Newsom’s office expects a $2.9 billion shortfall in the upcoming budget year, according to CalMatters. The state also cut health care for illegal immigrants this year to help fill a large gap last year.

“When government actions create fear and instability, our responsibility is to show up for families. This investment strengthens local partners who help people access legal services and meet basic needs during an incredibly difficult time,” said Kim Johnson, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, in a release.

Democratic state Sen. Sena Gonzalez, chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, said the funding shows her party will “continue to stand in solidarity with our immigrant families.”

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The legislature set aside money from the state budget to help our charitable partners support immigrant families with food assistance and other services. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“The federal government is at war with our communities — and we will not stand for it,” Gonzalez said. “We’re putting money behind efforts to end fear, stop the separation of our families and stop abuses of our basic rights.”

Rep. Carl DeMaio, a Republican, denounced the funding as “nonsense.”

“If you were audited by the IRS and found out that you owed money and taxes, as a citizen, you wouldn’t say, ‘Well, I want a free lawyer to fight the federal government,'” DeMaio told CalMatters.

President Donald Trump campaigned on a drastic reduction in immigration and has followed that promise with mass deportations.

In June, Trump signed a budget bill that includes $170 billion for immigration enforcement, detention and deportation, an investment that aims to remove 1 million immigrants from the US annually over four years.

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These funds are in addition to funds allocated by the state to provide legal services to immigrants facing deportation. (Pool)

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California’s state budget for immigration legal services prevents money from being used to help people with serious or violent crimes fight deportation, CalMatters reports.

California law does not prevent law enforcement officials from transporting illegal immigrants convicted of serious or violent crimes to immigration detention and Customs Enforcement custody.

“California will never remain silent in the face of Trump’s brutal and illegal attacks. We will meet fear and panic with courage and action,” House Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat, said in a release.

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