Gavin Newsom vetoes third proposal to help noncitizens

California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected a blueprint to give undocumented immigrants unemployment benefits on Saturday, vetoing a politically sensitive measure that conservatives seized on weeks before the presidential election.

It was the third bill aimed at supporting noncitizens that Newsom has vetoed in as many weeks, as immigration continues to be a top issue in the election. The latest veto comes as the Democratic governor continues campaigning for fellow Californian Vice President Kamala Harris, who is facing attacks from former President Donald Trump on progressive policies in her home state.

In his veto message, Newsom contended the bill "sets impractical timelines, has operational issues and requires funding that was not included in the budget." The governor pivoted to the federal level, stating that Congress should not "abandon its responsibility to advance solutions that provide an earned pathway to citizenship for longstanding residents who hove contributed significantly and seek the opportunity to work and live without constant fear and uncertainty."

"California has taken important steps to advance inclusion and equity for undocumented workers and mixed-status families who contribute significantly to California's economy and local communities - all while bottling fear and uncertainty due to decades of inaction by Congress and cruel and false anti-immigration narratives," Newsom wrote.

Newsom added that "we can have a fair immigration system that works for families, U.S. workers, and employers, and also have a safe border."

Two weeks ago, Newsom cited funding concerns when he killed a proposal that would have made some undocumented immigrants eligible for state-sponsored home loans. He also rejected a bill that would require public universities to hire undocumented students without work permits, warning of legal risks.

The unemployment benefits measure would not have automatically given undocumented immigrants unemployment. Instead it would have required the state’s Employment Development Department to plan for a permanent program that would provide cash assistance to those workers, who are prohibited from receiving unemployment insurance under state law .

Newsom vetoed a similar bill in 2022 that would have created a pilot program, also citing funding. His finance department had opposed an earlier version of this year’s measure.

A coalition of more than 120 immigrant and worker rights organizations had pushed for the program to be enacted in an original version of the measure, but the proposal was reduced to a study bill after funding was not included in the budget for the second straight year.

The original version of the bill would have made the estimated 1.1 million undocumented workers in the state eligible for $300 a week in cash payments for the periods they were unemployed in 2025, provided that they meet a number of qualification requirements.

Research from the Community and Labor Center at UC Merced found that undocumented workers contribute billions of dollars annually in state and tax revenues. Advocates contend it is unfair they don’t receive benefits from the crucial safety net they are paying into.

California has helped undocumented immigrants who were out of work in the past, though only during emergency situations — the state provided Covid-19 disaster relief assistance in 2020 and aid to undocumented families impacted by winter storms in 2022 and 2023.