May 21, 2019
Sacramento, CA – This week, the state Senate and Assembly each released their proposed budget agendas, which will now head to a conference committee made up of legislators in both houses. Both proposals would expand access to Medi-Cal to undocumented youth up to age 26, and the Senate’s proposal would also include elders aged 65 and older. In response to these developments, Cynthia Buiza, Executive Director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, issued the following statement:
“An essential step to making our shared commitment to universal care a reality is honoring the dignity of all our elders, including undocumented Californians. We praise the wise and compassionate leadership of the California Senate in embracing this principle, and we urge the Assembly to listen to the voices of community leaders from across the state.
Yesterday, over 1,000 Californians from across the state converged at the Capitol for the Immigrant day of Action. Many of the community members who met with legislators have personally witnessed a loved one suffer or die from a treatable condition. Be it the mother-in-law who never had the chance to fight cancer, or the farmworker laden with debt after working in toxic wildfire smoke, these heartbreaking indignities are repeated in every county of California.
CIPC stands in solidarity with immigrant youth who are urging legislative leaders to ensure that no elderly Californian suffers or dies from a treatable condition, no matter where they were born.”
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