February 5, 2010
Urgent Action Alert - Your Letters Needed!
Governor Schwarzenegger has once again proposed to balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable, including children, the elderly, disabled immigrants and their families. Tell your state representatives to save the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, the California Food Assistance Program, and Medi-Cal and CalWORKs for newly qualified immigrants. These are programs that serve legal immigrants who were cut off from federal assistance that California has protected since 1998.
Letters are needed by Tuesday, February 9, 2010.
A sample letter is pasted below and can also be found on our website. Please write to your nearest local members of the budget committee (list below), as well as the Budget Chairs:
Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny (D - San Diego)
Chair, Senate Budget Committee
Office fax: (916)327-3522
Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D - Santa Rosa),
Chair, Assembly Budget Committee
Office fax: (916)319-2107
Also fax your letter to your local representative (Help me find my elected official). For more information on these cuts, please see our website at http://www.caimmigrant.org/budgetaction.html.
Thank you.
Budget Committee Members by Region:
North Coast
Assemblymember Jim Nielsen. Office fax: (916)319-2102
Assemblymember Wes Chesbro Office fax: (916)319-2101
Bay Area
Senator Elaine Alquist Office fax: (916)324-0283
Senator Mark DeSaulnier Office fax: (916)445-2527
Senator Mark Leno Office fax: (916)445-4722
Senator Joe Simitian Office fax: (916)323-4529
Assemblymember Jim Beall Office fax: (916)319-2124
Assemblymember Jerry Hill Office fax: (916)319-2119
Assemblymember Jared Huffman Office fax: (916)319-2106
Assemblymember Ira Ruskin Office fax: (916)319-2121
Assemblymember Sandre Swanson Office fax: (916)319-2116
Central Coast
Senator Abel Maldonado Office fax: (916)445-8081
Assemblymember Anna Caballero Office fax: (916)319-2128
Assemblymember Bill Monning Office fax: (916)319-2127
Central Valley
Senator Roy Ashburn Office fax: (916)322-3304
Assemblymember Juan Arambula Office fax: (916)319-2131
Assemblymember Bill Berryhill Office fax: (916)319-2126
Assemblymember Jean Fuller Office fax: (916)319-2132
Assemblymember Danny Gilmore Office fax: (916)319-2130
Inland Empire, Orange County, San Diego
Senator Bob Dutton Office fax: (916)327-2272
Senator Bob Huff Office fax: (916)324-0922
Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod Office fax: (916)445-0128
Senator Mimi Walters Office fax: (916)445-9754
Assemblymember Anthony Adams Office fax: (916)319-2159
Assemblymember Wilmer Amina Carter Office fax: (916)319-2162
Assemblymember Paul Cook Office fax: (916)319-2165
Assemblymember Bill Emmerson Office fax: (916)319-2163
Assemblymember Diane Harkey Office fax: (916)319-2173
Assemblymember Kevin Jeffries Office fax: (916)319-2166
Assemblymember Brian Nestande Office fax: (916)319-2164
Assemblymember Jim Silva Office fax: (916)319-2167
Los Angeles
Senator Carol Liu Office fax: (916)324-7543
Senator Alan Lowenthal Office fax: (916)327-9113
Senator Alex Padilla Office fax: (916)324-6645
Senator Rod Wright Office fax: (916)445-3712
Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield Office fax: (916)319-2140
Assemblymember Julia Brownley Office fax: (916)319-2141
Assemblymember Hector De La Torre Office fax: (916)319-2150
Assemblymember Mike Feuer Office fax: (916)319-2142
Assemblymember Ed Hernandez Office fax: (916)319-2157
Sample Letter
February 5, 2010
The Honorable Denise Moreno Ducheny, Chair
Senate Budget Committee
State Capitol, Room 5019
Sacramento, CA 95814
The Honorable Noreen Evans, Chair
Assembly Budget Committee
State Capitol, Room 6026
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Governor's Proposals to Eliminate Human Services for Immigrants - OPPOSE
Dear Senator Moreno Ducheny and Assemblymember Evans:
(Name of your organization, or affiliation) opposes the Governor's proposal to eliminate the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI), the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP), and CalWORKs for Recent Noncitizen Entrants.California has provided benefits to certain lawful immigrants since 1996 when the federal government placed arbitrary timelines on legal immigrants who need assistance. Instead, our state made the right choice by opting to provide some life-saving services to immigrants who played by the rules, but because of the natural ebbs and flows of life, needed a helping hand. Our state recognizes the contributions of immigrants. Newcomers make up over a quarter of the state's population yet use public benefits in far lesser numbers than citizens. Immigrants in California have a combined federal tax contribution of more than $30 billion. And while some immigrants need some form of assistance immediately after arriving in the U.S., that necessity drops precipitously the longer they reside in the U.S. These are services that help get out of poverty, help them become employable, and make them self-sufficient. These programs are literally life-savers and lifelines for families in need.
Medi-Cal provides healthcare services to eligible low-income individuals, including lawful immigrants who have lived in the country for fewer than five years and those Permanently Residing Under Color of Law (PRUCOL). California has been a trailblazer for states in ensuring that all residents have access to affordable healthcare. Restricting low-income immigrants' access to Medi-Cal is inhumane, and would not result in significant cost savings. In fact, this restriction would result in higher human and fiscal costs for the state and would in effect increase the number of uninsured in California. Denying comprehensive health care to those eligible for Medi-Cal - including the elderly and persons with disabilities - would not stop them from needing health care services. Uninsured individuals are more likely to delay seeking treatment for potentially serious conditions, ultimately receiving care that is more costly and less effective. California will continue to pay for these more expensive emergency services through the emergency Medi-Cal program.
CAPI was established in 1998 under Governor Wilson and serves as a veritable life line for California's seniors and persons with disabilities that rely on the program as a last resort to pay for housing, food and other basic necessities. Lawmakers in Sacramento - both Democrats and Republicans - have consistently supported CAPI, citing the vital role the program plays in ensuring that vulnerable seniors and persons with disabilities do not face hunger or homelessness. Many individuals in the program were destitute and in some cases homeless before they started receiving CAPI grants.
CFAP provides food stamp benefits to immigrants who were rendered ineligible for federal food stamps by the 1996 federal welfare law. Almost 70 percent of CFAP recipients are working families with children. In fact, a survey by the Urban Institute showed an alarming rate of hunger in children in immigrant households that did not have access to food stamps. In difficult economic times, hard-working families shouldn't be forced to go hungry. CFAP also provides a critical economic stimulus because food stamps are spent immediately in local economies.
Lastly, we are opposed to the Governor's plan to eliminate eligibility in CalWORKs for Recent Noncitizen Entrants. California has historically provided CalWORKs to qualified legal immigrants who have been in the United States for fewer than 5 years. Immigrants in the CalWORKs program must also meet other eligibility guidelines. Approximately 24,000 lawful immigrants within their first five years in status receive assistance under CalWORKs. The Governor's proposal ignores the consequences of eliminating a family's source of income, child care, job training and education. CalWORKs provides these services to families with no other recourse. The denial of services to these 24,000 individuals will have ripple effects, when they cannot pay rent to landlords, child care providers will lose state payments, and local merchants will lose business from the direct stimulus that CalWORKs provides in communities. Many of those who would lose assistance are victims of domestic violence who need assistance in order to secure safety and economic security for themselves and their children. They are working towards a better future, and elimination of CalWORKs could prevent them from leaving a dangerous situation. CalWORKs Recent Noncitizen Entrants applicants' eligibility is affected by sponsor deeming.
The California Legislature understands the importance of providing services to all vulnerable residents. As you have the last several years, we ask you to reject these proposals. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact (Your name and contact information).
Sincerely,
(Your signatory)
Cc: Vanessa Cajina, California Immigrant Policy Center fax: (916) 448-6774
