California May Cut Services to Legal Immigrants

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: La Opinion

Despite the fact that in April, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said that immigrants were not to blame for the state's budget mess, his proposal to close the budget deficit would eliminate four programs that provide money and food to more than 100,000 legal immigrants -- unemployed residents, many of whom are elderly and disabled, reports La Opinión. After today's elections, when the governor is asking California voters to approve various measures to close the deficit, the state will decide which budget cuts it will be forced to make. One of the programs the governor has proposed cutting is cash assistance for immigrants, established in 1998 under former governor Pete Wilson, which provides cash to elderly and disabled legal immigrants. This program provides money to pay for housing, food, medicine and other necessities for 12,000 legal immigrants. Another program at risk is California's food assistance for immigrants who do not qualify for federal food stamps. This benefits more than 23,000 legal immigrants. The governor is also proposing to eliminate the state health insurance program Medical for legal immigrants who have been in the country for less than five years, estimated at approximately 80,000 people.

http://www.impre.com/laopinion/noticias/2009/5/19/en-la...

Read more: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?...

[napi21]

1. Are there any election results yet? I haven't heard anything yet, and

I assume the voting close at 8PM.

[rwheeler31]

2. This is so disgusting and all because of the enron crowd.

[Mythsaje]

3. That's not going to go over well...n/t

[Baby Snooks]

4. And how many illegal immigrants are working and not in need of benefits?

That's a question of course that isn't supposed to be asked. But should be.

[emilyg]

5. +1

[EFerrari]

6. How does that question follow?

[Baby Snooks]

7. Who's working and who's not?

Unemployed legal immigrants and employed illegal immigrants. Something wrong with the picture.

[EFerrari]

8. I still don't understand, sorry. What do employed undocumented workers

have to do with cutting services to legal immigrants? Are you under the impression that undocumented people get food stamps or something? Maybe I'm just dense. Most people with no docs have as little to do with the government in any form as possible.

[Baby Snooks]

9. Well maybe if they were working they wouldn't need benefits?

No offense but between guest workers and outsourcing, I'm surprised ANY Americans have jobs at this point. Barbara Jordan, hardly a conservative, warned everyone in 1996 about how illegal immigration would impact this country by displacing American workers.

Legal immigrants are displaced along with citizens. If they were working, they wouldn't need benefits. And so the matter of cutting benefits would be moot. And probably wouldn't happen since the amount of benefits probably wouldn't be sufficient enough to affect the budget.

[EFerrari]

10. Some of those legal residents are seniors, for one thing.

For another, Arnold always goes after the most vulnerable people who can't run over to Sacramento and protest. I remember one year, it was impounded dogs and wheelchair-bound people.

There's been a migrant working population in this part of the country since before there was a country here, Barbara Jordan notwithstanding. Legal immigrants and citizens aren't displaced by undocumented workers. They have been displaced by greedy f@ckers like Raygun and by NAFTA and globalization all over the continent.

[AlphaCentauri]

11. Barbara may had never envision an African American President

just thinking that low skill jobs it's all the african american community has to compete for, it's kind of putting down their capacity to aspire to better jobs and better wages.

[Missy Vixen]

12. Has Mr. Schwartzenegger forgotten that HE is a legal immigrant?

I think his support should be cut off! After all, if he wants to remain here, he can get a job, huh?

[AlphaCentauri]

13. He displaced american actors from many movies

another of those pesky invaders

so many democrats voted for him to see a celebrity as governor

[totodeinhere]

14. What this article fails to mention is that benefits are being cut to the non immigrant poor as well.

Why single out only immigrants? This is an issue impacting all vulnerable poor people, just not immigrants.

[AlphaCentauri]

15. First the illegals, then the legals, then the poor citizens, then the working poor

then the low middle class, then the high middle class, and by the time it gets to the wealthy they would have left the country with all their money.

Thats how it's play, we elect people who protect the wealthy not the poor.