California Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced the allocation of up to $35 million in existing state humanitarian funding to support immigrant families—particularly illegal ones—amid the ongoing mass deportation efforts under President Donald Trump’s second administration.
This funding, drawn from resources previously approved by the state legislature, is being directed through partnerships with philanthropic organizations and nonprofits. It aims to provide:
- Food assistance and other basic needs for affected families.
- Connections to legal support and representation for those facing detention or deportation proceedings.
The move supplements other recent state investments, such as $15 million awarded this year to fund 33 removal defense organizations for legal representation over the next two years, and a broader $125 million commitment to immigration-related legal services statewide.
Newsom’s office framed the initiative as a response to what it describes as the federal government’s “cruel and chaotic” policies, including accelerated detentions and a record $170 billion federal budget allocation (signed by Trump in June) for immigration enforcement, detention, and deportations aiming for up to 1 million removals per year over four years.
This occurs despite California’s fiscal challenges, including a projected $2.9 billion budget deficit in the upcoming year and prior cuts to certain health care benefits for undocumented immigrants to address earlier shortfalls.
For more, see the Governor’s press release.