In a move that is likely to stir nationwide debate, California’s SB 227, known as the Safety Net for All Workers Act, is set for review this week.
This legislation, aimed at extending unemployment benefits to undocumented workers, comes as California braces for a potential surge in migrants in the wake of the expiration of the Trump-era Title 42 policy.
The proposed bill would grant laid-off undocumented workers a weekly benefit of $300 for up to 20 weeks, funded directly from state resources.
According to Supervisor Shamann Walton, who spoke passionately during a protest preceding a board meeting, the intention is to ensure that workers who contribute to the state’s economy and welfare are not denied benefits they are deemed to have earned.
“We cannot take people’s money, take people’s taxes, take people’s labor and then deny them the very benefits and rights that they deserve and that they have earned,” Walton stated.
As per the Safety Net for All Coalition, an alliance of over 120 organizations advocating for welfare expansion for undocumented workers, an estimated $485 million annually is added to the state’s Unemployment Insurance system through payroll taxes on undocumented workers.
Despite this significant contribution, these workers remain largely excluded from the state’s safety net, as per state Sen. María Elena Durazo, the bill’s sponsor.
“Every day, undocumented immigrants contribute to California’s economic prosperity in agriculture, construction, clothing and other industries,” Durazo said. “Yet immigrants continue to be shut out from California’s economic success due to unjust exclusions from the safety net.”
However, the Act’s implementation is not without its potential financial implications. The proposed legislation, inclusive of administrative expenses, is projected to cost around $356 million in state funds.
This upcoming review by the Senate Appropriations Committee comes at a time of escalating financial pressure for California.
Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced that the state is essentially broke, operating at a wildly larger deficit, nearly $32 billion, than the anticipated $10 billion.
“This was not an easy budget, but I hope you see we will try to do our best to hold the line and take care of the most vulnerable and most needy but still maintain prudence,” Newsom said.
The bill’s review is also timed with the expiration of Title 42, a policy implemented during the Trump administration that suspended asylum-seeking rights.
The policy’s expiration has sparked a considerable increase in migrants crossing the border, with a record 83,000 migrants doing so last week in anticipation. However, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said there was a 50% drop in the number of border crossers over the weekend.
Furthermore, approximately 15,000 migrants had congregated in Tijuana, just south of San Diego, last week. As reported by The New York Times, they were occupying hotels and shelters or even resorting to outdoor sleeping arrangements, all in anticipation of Title 42’s expiration and hopes of entering the Golden State.
In a state facing severe economic strains and expects dramatic increases in its undocumented population, the question is whether California can even afford to supply unemployment benefits to undocumented workers, or even if they should at all.