The recently passed federal budget includes trillions in cuts to vital programs that support the health and well-being of millions of Latinx Californians. Programs like health care and food assistance help close decades of inequities that Latinx Californians have faced, but they are now facing severe funding cuts. At the same time, increased immigration enforcement actions that often target Latinx communities instill fear and threaten their safety and livelihoods.

Findings:  

• Health coverage: 1 in 3 Latinx Californians have Medi-Cal insurance, and federal cuts to the program may lead to 1 million of them losing coverage.
• Hunger programs: 1 in 4 Latinx Californians receive food assistance through CalFresh, which will lose between $1.7 billion and $3.7 billion annually in federal funding.
• Child care access: The Department of Health and Human Services will restrict certain immigrants’ eligibility to attend Head Start, a federal program that provides early childhood education and developmental services to low-income children.
• College aid: The maximum amount of a Pell Grant, a federal program that helps students from low-income families afford college, is being reduced, which could mean hundreds of thousands of Latinx Californians may be unable to attend or complete college.  
• Housing assistance: Black and Latinx renters are more likely to struggle to afford rent. Proposed decreases to Housing and Urban Development funding could mean cuts to already underfunded programs for rental assistance, affordable housing, and community development.
• Increased immigration enforcement: The federal budget act includes over $170 billion in unrestricted funding for immigration enforcement, with detrimental effects on families, communities, and the state’s entire economy.

Authors recommend closing tax loopholes to increase state revenue; increasing funding for legal services to protect and support immigrants; taking legal action against the federal government, preserving/restoring access to health care; expediting expanded access to food assistance; accelerating efforts to make college more affordable; and making strong, sustained state investments to meet urgent housing needs of communities across the state.

Authors use CalFresh and Medi-Cal data from the 2019–2023 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) in its analysis.