California weighs unemployment benefits for illegal immigrants
California State Sen. Brian Jones, R., joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the proposal as the surge of migrants from the ending of Title 42 continues.
Californians are pushing back against a state proposal that would give weekly checks to illegal immigrants as the state endures a migrant surge, amid an already-tight budget amid the ending of Title 42.
State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R., warned the proposal sends the wrong message to potential migrants and incentivizes them to come to the U.S. illegally during "Fox & Friends."
"When the governor and the Democrat super-majority is sending out the message of come to California, get free money, you don't have to work, that's just going to draw more and more illegal immigrants to our state," Jones told Brian Kilmeade Wednesday. "And that's the message that we're trying to stop in its tracks right now before it spreads to the rest of the country."
FILE – California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, March 16, 2023. Newsom vetoed a bill last year giving unemployment benefits to undocumented workers, saying "the bill needs further work to address operation issues and fiscal concerns." (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
SB 227, or the Safety Net for All Workers Act, would provide laid-off illegal immigrants with $300 per week for up to 20 weeks with funds from state coffers. In March, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the statewide bill.
But one California resident who immigrated to the U.S. legally, Mike Diaz, called the proposal unsustainable. He also argued legislation like this proposal is the reason why so many individuals have decided to flee to red states and leave California's expensive progressive policies behind.
"You think that after COVID, where we paid people not to work – and that's exactly what they did, not work – what do we think is going to happen with giving this money to illegal immigrants that are unemployed?" Diaz said during "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday. "It just doesn't make any sense."
"The governor has already told us… we don't have the money. We're already in a $31 billion deficit. We just do not have the money," he continued.
FLORIDA AG SUES BIDEN ADMIN TO STOP PLANNED MASS RELEASE OF MIGRANTS AS TITLE 42 ENDS
Payroll taxes on illegal immigrants contribute $485 million a year to the state's Unemployment Insurance system, according to the Safety Net for All Coalition, a group of over 120 organizations across California seeking to expand welfare programs for undocumented workers.
The weekly checks plus administrative expenses in the proposed legislation is estimated to cost $356 million in state funds.
"It's unbelievable," Jones said. "California Republicans, we're fighting like hell here in California against this Democrat supermajority, and this is just one more issue that we've got to fight every single day… This program could cost up to $2 billion over the every year for as long as the Democrat supermajority wants to have it in place."
Despite pushback against the proposal, Diaz said he thinks California Democrats will gain traction with the measure, even though Newsom vetoed a similar bill last year.
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"I think what's going to happen is they're going to run this up the flagpole again," he said. "And I think they're going… to trump the veto from the governor, and I think they're going to maybe make this happen. I don't know, that's what it looks like to me."
"I hope it doesn't happen, but you never know these days with the legislature," he continued. "This is the reason that folks, 200 plus thousand a year are leaving California, is exactly because of this."
The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected review the legislation Thursday and either kill the bill or advance it to the floor.
Fox News' Teny Sahakian contributed to this report.