TCP Response to 2025-2026 Final State Budget
Friday, June 27, 2025
The 2025-26 California state budget agreed to by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature continues to reflect a looming uncertainty from the federal government – and fails to fully protect the children and families in California who need our support and commitment the most.
It’s this uncertainty that presents an opportunity for California to lead the way in standing firm in our shared values of dignity, freedom and the chance at a brighter future. While this budget deal is slightly less harmful to our immigrant communities than what the Governor proposed in May, it’s still not good enough for the millions of immigrants who live, work and pay taxes in our state.
After making historic strides last year in opening Medi-Cal eligibility to anyone regardless of immigration status, this budget takes away that promise of the security of health care. The state will now freeze Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented Californians ages 19-59 starting in January 2026, and undocumented adults who are able to keep their coverage will be required to pay a new $30 monthly premium starting in January 2027. Adding these restrictions will leave people uninsured, shifting costs to hospital uncompensated care, and making health care more expensive for everyone. These decisions will not help in the long run.
“When nearly half of California’s 9 million children are part of an immigrant family, and immigrants are being targeted and scapegoated by our federal government, now is not the time to pull back on our support,” said TCP President Mayra E. Alvarez. “Too many children are experiencing and witnessing the troubling actions and rhetoric surrounding immigrant families – no doubt traumatizing them for decades to come. We must do better to show them that California stands for unity, health and dignity for all.”
Limiting access to Medi-Cal – a lifeline for the 15 million people who rely on it for their health care, including 1.6 million immigrants without status – is short-sighted and unjust. California has the 4th-largest economy in the world and the most billionaires of any state in the United States. We should seriously consider raising revenues by eliminating existing tax breaks that benefit ultra wealthy individuals and corporations, not balancing our budget on the backs of the most vulnerable among us.
Proposals for cuts to Medicaid and other vital safety net programs are making their way through Congress in Washington, D.C. As California continues to grapple with the ripple effects on our state budget in the coming months, we call on our state leadership to revisit the choices they have made, and identify savings that are more just and equitable in ensuring that every child, regardless of race, income or immigration status, has the opportunity to grow up healthy and thrive.
About The Children’s Partnership
The Children’s Partnership (TCP) is a California-based children’s policy and advocacy organization committed to advancing child health equity through public policy, research and community engagement. TCP envisions a California where all children—regardless of their race, ethnicity or place of birth—have the resources and opportunities they need to grow up healthy and thrive. Learn more at childrenspartnership.org.
