This past week, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have authorized California to provide low-income immigrants with $600 in financial aid, in order to purchase groceries.

The program Newsom vetoed would have given low-income immigrants a one-time payment of $600, loaded onto a debit card. The card could have only been used at retailers that sell groceries.

Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, a Democrat from Los Angeles, created the bill. When explaining the reasoning behind it, he said, “Kids and families are starving during this pandemic.”

Newsom, in his veto message, claims, “It has been my firm commitment that my administration would support all Californians during the COVID-19 crisis. To that end, my administration has advanced efforts to provide relief that is both inclusive of and directed to undocumented Californians.”

Although he previously supported a bill that provided immigrants with financial assistance during the pandemic, Newsom vetoed the bill created by Santiago because of its “…significant General Fund impact.”

The bill was supposed to authorize the program, but it did not offer funding for it. The bill requested that the Legislature or the governor pay for it, by using his access to emergency funding. Newsom reportedly has access to a $2.6 billion special fund for emergencies. Critics speculate that he could have used some of that money to pay for the program.

It’s unclear how much the program would have cost, but a Los Angeles Times article estimates it would have cost up to “tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Earlier this year, Newsom established the Disaster Relief for Immigrants Project. It gave up to $500 to low-income people living in the country illegally. Newsom put $75 million into the program, and all of it was spent.

When he established the project in May, Newsom said, “Undocumented workers are essential.” He went on to explain that immigrants are keeping California afloat, through their work in health care, agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and more.

But now, a few months later, Newsom vetoed a similar bill that would provide essential workers with money to keep themselves alive and to feed their families. 

There are around 7.6 million unauthorized workers in the United States who are struggling with the impacts of the Coronavirus. Although they paid over $2.5 billion in local and state taxes last year, they do not qualify for unemployment insurance, nor the $2.2 trillion stimulus signed by President Trump.