The leader of California Assembly Republicans ripped Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats for spending billions on healthcare for illegal migrants as their party scrambles to fix the state’s swelling deficit.
California became the first state to offer taxpayer-funded healthcare to all illegal migrants in January 2024, allowing roughly 700,000 illegal migrants to enroll in Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program for individuals with low incomes. However, since that time, costs and enrollment have ballooned far more than originally projected, wreaking havoc on the state’s budget and forcing legislators to identify cutbacks. (RELATED: Schumer Thinks Anti-ICE Nonprofit Bankrolled By China Needs More American Tax Dollars)
State GOP Rep. James Gallagher, who serves as the State Assembly minority leader, says the financial disaster California is experiencing was inevitable after Newsom opened universal healthcare coverage to illegal migrants.
“In what other country can you just show up, and have the expectation, and get full services from government programs?” Gallagher asked the Daily Caller News Foundation. “I’m not aware of any other country that would allow you to do that.”
California State Rep. James Gallagher. YouTube screen grab.
“It’s just crazy,” he continued. “It’s not sustainable, and that’s why our budget is completely blown.”
The federal government reimburses states for most Medicaid expenditures, but it does not reimburse states for illegal migrant healthcare beyond some emergency-related care, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2024, the Biden administration ordered California to repay nearly $53 million to the federal government for “improperly” claiming reimbursements from the Medicaid program for illegal migrants and other non-citizens.
Former California Gov. Jerry Brown first expanded Medi-Cal eligibility to illegal migrant minors in 2016, according to CalMatters. State Democrats then expanded enrollment to young adults in 2020 and seniors in 2022, before making all low-income illegal migrants eligible for the program by January 2024.
The governor in June 2024 signed legislation that his office claimed would usher in a balanced budget over the next two fiscal years. However, financial woes returned as the state burned roughly $8.5 billion to cover foreign nationals living in the country unlawfully.
Amid massive budget shortfalls, both the California Assembly and the California Senate voted in favor of a budget plan in June that would dramatically cut back Medi-Cal eligibility for illegal migrants in the state, but state Democrats and Newsom are conflicted on how to tighten enrollment. The legislature and the governor have roughly a week to negotiate a final budget deal.
Newsom suggested a freeze on Medi-Cal enrollment for illegal migrants and implementing a $100 monthly copay for those already enrolled into the program, according to CalMatters. However, Democratic lawmakers proposed legislation that would expand that enrollment freeze to all noncitizens with “unsatisfactory immigration status,” which opens the door to legal permanent residents, while holding onto other healthcare benefits.
Gallagher argues that freezing Medi-Cal enrollment won’t solve the issue because there are already so many illegal migrants benefiting from the program — a consequence he attributed to the Biden-era border crisis.
“Freezing it really doesn’t do much because millions of illegal immigrants have already signed up for this, and probably a lot of them, maybe just in the last few years [while there was] no enforcement at the border under [President Joe Biden],” Gallagher said to the DCNF.
“We know that probably somewhere around 10 million or so came across. How many of them came to California and signed up for health care?” he asked.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are greeted by California Governor Gavin Newsom upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025, to visit the region devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Newson in March requested state lawmakers provide a $2.8 billion loan to help cover expenses for the program. This request was in addition to the $3.4 billion loan the Newsom administration borrowed from the state earlier that month in order to make payments for Medi-Cal — totaling $6.2 billion in spending above what the state budget originally projected.
Gallagher suggested that Democrats are losing ground with California voters on the issue. He pointed to a newly-released survey from the Public Policy Institute of California showing 58% of voters in the state oppose providing free healthcare coverage to illegal migrants, with only 41% of respondents expressing support for such a policy. A majority of Californians previously favored the idea in surveys taken from 2015 to 2023.
Despite the dire financial situation, Gallagher said one Democratic lawmaker during the California Assembly’s floor debate bemoaned the idea of illegal migrants paying a $100 premium to remain on Medi-Cal.
“Everyday California citizens are paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars, maybe it could be $1,500 for premiums, and they want to make it so that illegal immigrants shouldn’t have to pay any premiums to get free health care,” the GOP Assembly leader said. “It’s just unbelievable, right?”
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