SAN DIEGO, CA — The California Legislature’s Budget Conference Committee announced a deal for California’s 2020 budget to offer healthcare for young undocumented adults — the first state in the country to do so — while excluding vulnerable undocumented seniors.

The deal is expected to be voted by the state Senate and Assembly, and then be sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom next week for his signature.

The deal extends healthcare for undocumented immigrants between the ages of 19 and 25. The deal, however, falls short in including health coverage to undocumented seniors over the age of 65 who need health care the most.

Undocumented Californians are our friends, neighbors, and loved ones. They help to keep our economy — the fifth largest in the nation — thriving, and contribute to our culture of diversity, opportunity, and hope. However, many undocumented Californians are facing a crisis that may prove deadly — a lack of access to healthcare because of their immigration status.

In 2015, California passed “Health4All Kids”, which expanded Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented children under the age of 19. While this has helped improve the lives of thousands of children, it left out over a million undocumented adults and seniors. Undocumented Californians are the largest single group of uninsured individuals in the state, and because of this, many of our loved ones suffer and even die from treatable illnesses due to lack of care.

The Health4All Campaign is urging the California legislature to exercise their leadership and expand the reach of “Health4All Kids” by passing a budget that includes Medi-Cal coverage for all Californians who meet the income requirement, regardless of their immigration status or age.

Governor Newsom included funding in his proposed budget for undocumented young adults ages 19-25 to be able to access Medi-Cal, but this proposal fails to provide healthcare for older adults, including our community elders who may need it the most.

Read the stories below from community members whose families have been deeply impacted because of their loved ones’ inability to access healthcare. These are the stories of individuals who would be left out of the Governor’s current proposal.

No one should have to wait for an emergency to be able to access healthcare, or lose a loved one because they did not have access to healthcare. Call today and urge the Budget Conference Committee and Governor Newsom to include #Health4All and #Health4AllElders as part of the state budget on June 15.   

New report reveals how local agencies are measuring up one year later

SAN DIEGO, CA — A new report by the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC) on the implementation of SB 54 in San Diego County shows that law enforcement agencies have been slow to implement the requirements of the California Values Act, also known as SB 54.

SAN DIEGO, CA — The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld Senate Bill 54, also known as the “California Values Act,” which bars local police departments from helping federal officials in the separation of families in California. Trump sued California in 2018 in an effort to bully the state into participating in the administration’s anti-immigrant agenda, which San Diego County regrettably joined later in the year.

SAN DIEGO, CA — Today, House Democrats introduced a sweeping bill that would put millions of young immigrants and others with temporary protections on a path to citizenship, reaffirming immigrant families’ vital role in our communities.

SAN DIEGO, CA – The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium(SDIRC) has elected new leadership to its Advisory Board. Lilian Serrano was re-elected as the 2019 chair. She and the new 9-member advisory board will be tasked with leading the coalition for the next year.