Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a California budget on Friday that relied on scaling back health care for undocumented immigrants, even as he and other California Democrats in recent weeks have condemned the Trump administration for cracking down on immigrant workers.
In signing the budget, Mr. Newsom backtracked on his earlier pledge to insure all low-income residents, regardless of their immigration status. But it came as the state faced a $12 billion deficit, driven in part by a large cost overrun in the state’s insurance plan for undocumented immigrants, and it would have been politically difficult to cut programs for citizens without reducing benefits for undocumented immigrants.
When Mr. Newsom initially proposed the cuts in May, it was seen as a centrist pivot for a governor who is a potential presidential candidate in 2028. But after President Trump sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles nearly three weeks ago to thwart protesters, Mr. Newsom returned to his role as a liberal antagonist of the Republican administration and accused Mr. Trump of endangering American democracy.
The California budget for the fiscal year that starts Tuesday relies on prohibiting new enrollment of undocumented immigrants in the state’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, starting in January. Adults between the ages of 19 and 59 who were already enrolled will have to pay a new $30 monthly premium beginning in 2027. And the state will eliminate dental care in July 2026 for undocumented adults and other noncitizens.
Medi-Cal serves roughly 15 million people, including 1.6 million undocumented immigrants.
Because the federal government does not pay for most health care for undocumented immigrants, it costs California more to insure noncitizens than it does to cover citizens. Democrats have argued that the state has a moral responsibility to provide health care to its immigrant work force, and they have said that preventative treatment can avert more costly emergency care down the road.
Democrats who control the State Capitol cast their decisions on Friday as a necessary move to help close the budget deficit and said it was not an ideological shift away from supporting immigrants. Some choked back tears in emotional floor speeches about their undocumented family members as they voted for cuts to Medi-Cal.
“My mother took me to dental appointments on Medi-Cal,” said Assemblyman Jose Solache, a Democrat who said his parents were undocumented before they became citizens many years ago through an amnesty.
“Lord knows it’s not perfect,” he said of the budget. “But we have a responsibility.”
Other Democratic-led states have also rolled back health care for undocumented immigrants this year to help solve their budget problems. Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois signed a budget this month that eliminates such benefits for low-income noncitizens between the ages of 42 and 64. Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and state lawmakers also reduced immigrant benefits in May to help balance their budget.
The California cuts for undocumented immigrants were contained in a separate bill that Mr. Newsom was expected to sign in the coming days. But that was just a procedural matter; the main budget bill that he signed on Friday relies on those reductions to balance the state’s ledger.
While legislators cast their votes, Mr. Newsom held a news conference to draw attention to the much deeper cuts that he said California would experience if Mr. Trump signs the Republican budget reconciliation bill making its way through Congress.
The governor called it a “cruel and damaging” proposal and said it could put $28 billion in federal funding for California at risk. He projected that 3.4 million Californians could lose their health care because of proposed work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks.
Republicans have also proposed penalizing states, like California, that use their own funding to provide health care to undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for Medicaid.
While California “has prided itself” on offering Medi-Cal to many noncitizens, Mr. Newsom said that “we also put a limit on it.”
Republicans said on Friday that the state should go much further and completely eliminate health insurance for undocumented immigrants.
“I think a lot of Californians have concerns about prioritizing noncitizens with scarce taxpayer resources,” said Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, a Republican.
The cuts to health care for undocumented Californians that Democratic lawmakers approved Friday were similar to those Mr. Newsom proposed in May after it became clear earlier this year that the program had cost billions of dollars beyond projections. Many more people signed up for Medi-Cal than the state had projected when it expanded eligibility last year to low-income, undocumented residents of all ages.
Mr. Newsom initially angered many progressive allies with his proposal in May, including some Democratic lawmakers who did not vote for the plan on Friday. Since he called for the cuts, federal immigration raids have become more frequent in parts of California, fueling ire among Democrats who represent immigrant communities.
Assemblywoman Sade Elhawary, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said earlier this month that if the state approved the cuts to undocumented immigrant health care, “we are no better than the Trump administration.”
“We’re just doing harm in a different way,” she said.
California had been on a decade-long path of expanding public health care to undocumented residents, culminating last year with the full expansion Mr. Newsom once touted as “universal health care for all.”
Sonja Diaz, a civil rights lawyer who founded the Latino Politics and Policy Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the decision by state leaders to reverse course reflected broader changes in the political climate.
“For a state like California to pull back and to create caveats on this issue is telling of how strong MAGA’s influence is,” she said.
Steven Rich contributed reporting.
Laurel Rosenhall is a Sacramento-based reporter covering California politics and government for The Times.
The post Newsom Signs Budget That Includes Health Care Cuts for Undocumented Immigrants appeared first on New York Times.
