California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) unveiled his 2022-23 state budget on Monday, and in it, he called for universal health care for all low-income residents of his state, including illegal immigrants.

Fox News reported that Newsom gave a press conference yesterday in which he unveiled his $213 billion California Blueprint plan, which will be backed by a $45.7 billion surplus. This plan included a measure to expand healthcare coverage for all low-income California residents, regardless of whether or not they are citizens.

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“Here’s the big one: California is poised to be, if this proposal is supported, the first state in the country to achieve universal access to health coverage,” Newsom said during the presser. “So, what does that mean? It means full-scope Medi-Cal, including long-term care, IHSS [In-Home Supportive Services], and behavioral health to all low-income Californians, regardless of immigration status.”

If California state lawmakers approve Newsom’s measure, it will allow illegal immigrants to obtain abortions funded by the state under its Medi-Cal system.

Newsom later added in a press release that he expects this plan to be fully implemented by January of 2024.

“With major new investments to tackle the greatest threats to our state’s future, the California Blueprint lights the path forward to continue the historic progress we’ve made on our short-term and long-term challenges, including responding to the evolving pandemic, fighting the climate crisis, taking on persistent inequality and homelessness, keeping our streets safe and more,” the governor said. “As California’s robust recovery continues, we’re doubling down on our work to ensure all our communities can thrive.”

Sarah Dar, the director of health and public benefits policy at the California Immigrant Policy Center, celebrated this measure by saying that illegal aliens are “taxpayers” and “just as much a part of California as anybody else.”

“We’ve really gotten to that place where everybody understands that equity matters and why it makes no sense to exclude people from our health care system,” she told The Sacramento Bee. “People will have the peace of mind in knowing that they’re taken care of.”

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State Senator Jim Nielsen (R) slammed the measure, however, saying that it would allocate public dollars to “illegal” residents.

“He’s opening the door to a blank check providing for illegal individuals who have come to California,” Nielsen said.

This piece was written by James Samson on January 11, 2022. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com and is used by permission.

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