The revised budget last year did not include any form of income support for undocumented Californians. This is unacceptable. Excluding 1 in 10 California workers from the basic safety net due to immigration status is completely unsustainable in a crisis of this scale. That’s why we began demanding that a weekly income replacement program for undocumented workers who have become unemployed due to COVID-19 be included in the budget last year.

California is still facing an unprecedented unemployment crisis, yet 1/10th of our workforce is undocumented and is unable to access any unemployment insurance benefits. Our undocumented community must not be left behind as our state works to keep all Californians safe and strong. We strongly support the inclusion of a weekly partial income replacement fund for undocumented workers who have been impacted by COVID-19.

The state legislators had proposed a plan to provide at least 8 weeks of income support to undocumented workers who have been left behind in this crisis. One-time payments will help families get by this week, and the Golden State stimulus helped prolong the short stability, what is true is that we need a long-term safety net for all of us to keep Californians safe and healthy. That’s why we strongly support the inclusion of a weekly partial income replacement fund for undocumented workers who have been impacted by COVID-19 in the June budget.

Research from UC Merced shows that nearly 1 in 4 pandemic job losses in California hit non-citizen immigrants, as immigrant workers are the backbone of the most impacted industries. Many of the undocumented and mixed status families we're talking to have survived with little to no income since March and no safety net at all. We stand with the Safety Net for all Coalition, a group of 100+ organizations across the state, and call on the legislature to include a weekly partial income replacement fund for undocumented workers who have been impacted by COVID-19

The SN4A bill, AB 2847, passed through the legislature with no opposition and bipartisan support, but was vetoed by the Governor in September, 2022. Yet, the coalition is not giving up! It is now planning for next year's campaign, and is planning to come back even bigger and stronger than before!

The coalition has built a robust support network with over 120 membership organizations that are committed to organizing and advocating to make unemployment benefits for excluded immigrant workers a reality. This past year, the coalition made over 1,000 calls to legislative offices, delivered 25K petitions to the Governor's office, sent 5000 postcards to the governor's office and participated in over 26 lobby visits!

How can the community get involved?
Sign up to join the coalition at bit.ly/SN4Asignup. You'll be added to our listserv to learn about upcoming coalition calls, actions, and ways to get involved!