Statements

Building Across Movements: CIPC’s 2023 Priorities

This legislative season we continue to be reminded that as Californians, our lives are deeply interconnected with each other – we live with neighbors, thrive in communities, and love and nurture our friendships and our families. That is why CIPC is co-sponsoring and supporting bills that help build lives and livelihoods for immigrants – so that all Californians have the dignity, fairness, and respect that helps people thrive. 

When building out CIPC’s policy platforms and analysis, we apply a cross-movement lens to every proposed solution, building bridges between different arms of the social justice movement, connecting intersectional issues, and crafting a constellation of truly inclusive policies. To see the full list of 70+ bills that CIPC is supporting or opposing in 2023, click here. 

California has made progress in acknowledging the humanity of everyone who calls this state home, but there is still so much to be done. CIPC and our partners are actively moving forward an agenda to create a more just and equitable state for the long term. Here’s what we’re demanding this year:

• Providing food security (Food4All)

• Building on our recent win to ensure healthcare access (Health4All)

• Expanding the social safety net (SafetyNet4All)

• Health and safety for all workers (SB 686) 

• Challenging detentions & deportations (REP4All & The HOME Act)

CIPC strives to continue bringing all people – no matter their economic standing, racial background, or immigration status – forward together.  Will you join us in saying that change cannot wait? This is our time to create a real California for All. 

CIPC 2023 Legislative Priorities

Realizing Economic Justice 

SafetyNet4All: SB 227 (Durazo): As climate change disasters continue to threaten our state, this bill ensures that all Californians, regardless of where they were born, have access to a safety net when they are displaced and out of work.  It will create a state unemployment benefits program for the one million Californians who are excluded from regular unemployment insurance, solely due to their immigration status. California can’t wait for the next disaster to strike. A safety net for all workers creates a more equitable and resilient California, able to withstand changes in our climate and our economy. Learn more with our Safety Net for All fact sheet. Want to get involved? Join the Safety Net for All Coalition!

Health and Safety for All Workers Act: SB 686 (Durazo): A home is a workplace. Yet people who work in homes and care for families are categorically excluded from health and safety protections, like the right to masks, bathrooms, and the ability to protect themselves from hazards. Last year, an advisory committee developed recommendations for strengthening domestic workers’ health and safety. This year, SB 686 bill will eliminate the exclusion of privately paid “household domestic service” employees from California’s Occupational Safety and Health Act (Cal/OSHA), recognizing that everyone deserves health and safety protections, regardless of where they work. Get the SB 686 fact sheet here

Improving Health & Public Benefits

Food4All: SB 245 (Hurtado) & AB 311 (Santiago) will address longstanding discrimination in our state’s most powerful anti-hunger program to ensure all Californians have access to food, regardless of their immigration status or age. By removing immigrant exclusions from the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP), these Food4All bills will reduce hunger, improve health outcomes, and mitigate poverty, resulting in a strengthened safety net for all. 

In last year’s budget, California committed to expanding CFAP to all immigrants regardless of status over the age of 55 (with a 2027 implementation currently being proposed). But without additional investments for all age groups, hundreds of thousands will continue to remain excluded. Currently, both bills have passed through their respective policy committees and are scheduled to be heard in their respective appropriations committees. Learn more with our Food4All fact sheet!

Health4All: AB 4 (Arambula): This bill builds on our recent win in making California the first state to extend Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented residents of all ages. Despite this progress, there remain over half a million uninsured Californians whose household income makes them ineligible for Medi-Cal and who cannot access the Covered California insurance marketplace due to their immigration status. AB 4 will take the first procedural step toward removing immigration status as an eligibility barrier to Covered California. By ensuring that everyone is able to access the care they need, we move closer to our vision of a more equitable health care system for all. See our AB 4 fact sheet here and stay tuned for ways to get involved!

Challenging Detentions & Deportations

Representation, Equity, and Protections (REP) for All Immigrants Act: AB 617 (Jones-Sawyer) will remove racist exclusions based on interactions with the criminal legal system and systemic barriers so that immigrant Californians have access to legal representation when faced with detention and deportation, or when they need assistance to access benefits, relief, and protections — such as DACA, citizenship, or asylum. 

AB 617 will strengthen California’s immigration legal services program, One California (One CA), which assists tens of thousands of Californians annually with accessing critical immigration services and relief. This bill will bolster One CA’s high-quality, holistic legal services by ensuring that all immigrants in California have an equal chance to access legal services and representation. AB 617 has been turned into a two-year bill and will be heard in policy committees in 2024. Learn more with the REP4All fact sheet here and partner with us by joining the REP4All campaign!

You can see the full list of bills that CIPC is supporting or opposing this year here. If you have any questions about these bills, please contact Sarah Dar at sdar@caimmigrant.org or Sasha Feldstein at sfeldstein@caimmigrant.org