Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Tim Walz of Minnesota have been floated as potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders.
But in June, all three governors took a page out of President Trump’s playbook by cutting or freezing health care coverage for undocumented immigrants in their states.
Their moves aren’t just cowardly — they’re anti-immigrant, anti-poor and anti-public health. And they should be noted, in permanent ink, as moral and economic failures.
These governors may be known for their sharp anti-Trump rhetoric, but their recent policy choices echo the very worst aspects of his administration: using immigrants — particularly those without the right to vote — as economic scapegoats.
The idea is simple and cynical: Balance the books by cutting benefits to some of the most vulnerable residents, knowing they can’t fight back at the ballot box.
In Minnesota, as many as 15,000 people will lose their health insurance by the end of this year because Walz approved changes to state coverage for undocumented residents.
In California, Newsom will prohibit new enrollment of undocumented immigrants in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, beginning in January. Californian adults ages 19 to 59 who are already enrolled will have to pay a new $30 monthly premium starting in 2027. Dental coverage will be eliminated for undocumented adults and other noncitizens by next July.
And to make matters worse, Newsom slashed funding for nonprofit community health centers to serve immigrant families, leaving them nowhere to access health care. Meanwhile, Illinois has already shuttered a program that provided publicly funded health care to more than 30,000 non-U.S. citizens.
These cuts are not just cruel — they are economically shortsighted. Public health officials and economists have shown for years that expanding health care access to undocumented immigrants isn’t a burden — it’s a boon.
An ongoing University of Chicago study found that state-run programs extending health care coverage to noncitizens provided significant financial benefits for Illinois hospitals.
When people can access primary and preventive care, they avoid costlier emergency room visits. When hospitals are reimbursed, they’re less likely to shut down. When immigrants are healthy, they’re more likely to keep working, paying taxes and contributing to their communities.
So why did these governors do it? The answer is as cynical as it is familiar: political optics and budget math.
Rather than face down the powerful interests who block progressive tax reform — such as raising corporate tax rates, enacting inheritance or wealth taxes or levying vacancy taxes on landlords who keep properties empty — these governors went after the lowest-hanging fruit.
Instead of leading with moral clarity and economic foresight, they balanced their budgets on the backs of people who already face a daily onslaught of threats: Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, exploitation in the workplace, housing discrimination and hate-fueled violence.
These governors acted against the interests, and wishes, of their own constituents. In California, over 120 organizations signed an open letter condemning Newsom’s Medi-Cal cuts, calling them even more devastating than the health care changes in Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax bill.
In Minnesota, residents across the state organized protests denouncing Walz’s decision. In Illinois, advocates rallied for “health care for all,” arguing that these programs served as a lifeline for immigrant families.
Let’s be clear: There’s a world of difference between the tone of these Democrats and that of Trump. But tone is not policy.
We cannot let ourselves be distracted by surface-level distinctions while immigrants lose their health care — and potentially their lives — under supposedly progressive leadership. The consequences of stripping coverage aren’t theoretical. They are real, measurable and deadly.
Undocumented immigrants are taxpayers, workers and caregivers. Many live in mixed-status households. Many pay into public systems from which they receive little or no benefit.
When they get sick or injured and can’t get care, they lose jobs, homes and security — which ripples out into the broader economy. And when safety net providers like community health centers or rural hospitals lose revenue because fewer people are covered, entire communities suffer.
At a moment when Trump’s threat to civil rights grows more tangible by the day, we need Democratic governors to do more than be not-Trump at the surface level. We need them to lead.
That means collaborative solutions that don’t throw whole communities under the bus. It means raising revenue in bold and creative ways. It means centering human rights over political convenience.
Newsom, Pritzker and Walz have proven they are willing to sacrifice the health and dignity of immigrants for short-term political gain. But it is not too late to reverse course.
These governors can still choose to restore funding for immigrant health programs. They can propose tax reforms that ask more from corporations and the ultra-wealthy. They can govern with the moral clarity their speeches so often invoke.
We need leaders who will fight to expand care — not slash it. We need leaders who will defend the undocumented — not discard them. Most of all, we need leaders with the courage to act on the values they claim to hold.
The eyes of the nation are watching. We won’t forget who showed up, and who sold us out.
Jim Mangia is the president and CEO of St. John’s Community Health.
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