Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed California’s budget on Friday, which included cuts to migrant healthcare despite once pledging to give healthcare to all state residents, including illegal immigrants.

New enrollment in of illegal immigrants in the state’s program will be prohibited, a new premium of $30 will be enforced in 2027 for those between the ages of 19 and 59 already enrolled, and dental care will be taken off in 2026. The program serves 1.6 million illegal immigrants, which likely means large savings once all the cuts take effect.

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The cuts were necessitated by the state’s $12 billion deficit, which was largely caused by funding illegal immigrant healthcare. Newsom’s backtrack of his previous pledge is in line with speculation that he could be trying to move to the political center to prepare for a 2028 presidential run.

Newsom stood as a main resistance figure when President Donald Trump sent National Guard troops to quell the Los Angeles protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the region. His role as an antagonist against Trump’s actions in the immigration-related protests likely made it more surprising when he cut funding to illegal immigrant healthcare weeks later.

Newsom said while California “has prided itself” on offering Medi-Cal to many noncitizens, “we also put a limit on it.”

The Democratic response in the state has been conflicted. Some did not vote for the bill, while others acknowledged the responsibility to pass a budget.

“My mother took me to dental appointments on Medi-Cal,” Democratic state Assemblyman Jose Solache, who had illegal immigrant parents who later became citizens, told the New York Times.

“Lord knows it’s not perfect,” he said of the budget. “But we have a responsibility.”

Others were less diplomatic. Democratic state Assemblywoman Sade Elhawary, who is from Los Angeles, said that if the state approves cuts to illegal immigrant healthcare, “we are no better than the Trump administration.”

“We’re just doing harm in a different way,” she said.

Republicans are cheering the move while saying it does not go far enough.

“I think a lot of Californians have concerns about prioritizing noncitizens with scarce taxpayer resources,” Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio said.

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While cutting healthcare for illegal immigrants, Newsom has slammed Trump for healthcare-related cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“The so-called ‘big, beautiful bill’ is not cost-saving,” he said. “It is not smart. It is cruel, costly, and a significant encroachment on states’ rights — the opposite of what Republican leadership claims to stand for. Big government is getting bigger under Trump and Speaker Johnson, as they attempt to dictate every move states make and micromanage Americans through even greater bureaucracy. It’s dangerous, and anyone with common sense should oppose it.”