Schwarzenegger Makes "Cruel Cuts" to Services for Immigrants

Update: Please sign the new petition by one of our Poverty in America bloggers, asking Gov. Schwarzenegger not to deprive the most poor and vulnerable immigrants of necessary aid.

Hasta la vista, baby: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to slash access to program services for the most vulnerable documented immigrants in California's proposed state budget.

The Terminator -- I mean, governor -- announced in his State of the State speech that there would be "cruel cuts" in his upcoming proposed budget. And the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) finds that, when it comes to health and human services programs for the most vulnerable immigrants who have been in the country less than five years, most of whom are permanent resident green card holders, the cuts are cruel indeed.

These immigrants will lose most Medi-Cal services, which provides health coverage for low-income working parents, persons with disabilities, and the elderly. Besides walking all over those who are most in need of aid, this short-term money saver would quickly turn into a bigger expense for the state of California, as CIPC points out in a report, "The Cost of Cutting Immigrant Programs: Illness, Hunger, & Homelessness." Unable to pay for regular health care, these people will have to turn to overwhelmed emergency rooms when they get sick -- but will probably wait until their illnesses grow much worse, making treatment harder and more expensive.

Schwarzenegger also proposes to cut food assistance, which keeps many low-income families and children from hunger or starvation, and cash assistance, which pays for food, medicine, and shelter for documented immigrants who are elderly or have disabilities. These cuts will do little to address California's $20 billion budget deficit, but will devastate the beneficiaries who rely on these small programs to help them get by. To the approximately 37,000 recipients who will lose food assistance, according to the California Department of Social Services, the absence of that average hundred dollars a month means a lot. And it's bad fiscal policy: $5 of food assistance generates an estimated $9.20 in overall community spending, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So why isn't Gov. Schwarzenegger trying to double the state's money?

Finally, the budget proposes the elimination of CalWorks, the state version of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, which provides low-income families that have no other options with temporary financial aid, job training, and child care. The effect of suddenly depriving these families of their income source will have a catastrophic impact on their lives and lead to "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." CalWORKs provides a way for people to get back on their feet after suffering a set-back, particularly important in this economic downturn, and in such a way that supports other members of working California society.

Schwarzenegger may have been an immigrant himself, but a charmed life in Hollywood and as a governor has clearly left him out of touch with others who have settled in America. Not only do these cuts target the most vulnerable immigrants in need of support -- the poor, working parents, the elderly, persons with disabilities -- they set California up for future financial failure. If sunny CA wants to come back as a thriving economy, this isn't the way to do it.

Photo credit: Nate Mandos