June 16, 2020
Sacramento, Calif. – Today, the California Legislature approved a leaner spending plan for 2020-21 that includes partial health and safety net investments to address current issues facing our state’s immigrant communities.
We appreciate the Legislature’s commitment to a California that supports all of its residents, especially during a tight fiscal budget year, by including ITIN filers in the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit program for families with children under six, and proposed 2022 implementation for MediCal expansion for seniors regardless of status. These programs are critical to supporting immigrants in need of economic relief and health care.
However, COVID-19 laid bare the cracks in our social infrastructure and revealed how growing wealth disparities do not support a California for all where every member of our state can survive, let alone thrive. The inclusion of ITIN filers in the CalEITC is not inclusive of all immigrant workers who pay taxes in California and leaves many vulnerable families at risk of falling into poverty. California’s low-income undocumented seniors—a group vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 and its devastating effects—need health care now, not next year or in two years.
“As unemployment and COVID cases continue to rise in California, immigrants need support during this critical time,” said CIPC executive director, Cynthia Buiza. “Just as Governor Newsom led California through a challenging spring as the state responded to the pandemic and saved lives, he must take action to ensure all Californians are treated with the same compassion and support they need to survive the current moment. Immigrants across the state are essential to our economy, to our communities, and to our mutual well-being. CIPC will continue to partner with our elected officials to build a California that reflects our shared values.”
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