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As President Trump launched a crackdown on unauthorized immigrants in the United States, a new survey found that the majority of California voters support providing social services to all low-income residents in the state, regardless of their immigration situation.
In contrast to anti-immigrant rhetoric emanating from the White House, a survey of 800 California voters portrays a mass who values immigrant contributions, regardless of legal status, and believes their well-being is intertwined with a state of functioning well.
Californians “we understand what plays a key role in immigration. We want to ensure that all of us have a quality of life and that basic basic services, such as access to health care, are maintained for everyone,” says Miguel Santana, president and executive officer of the California Community Foundation.
The poll found that over two-thirds of respondents would allow residents of all states to purchase health insurance through California, regardless of their immigration status. Currently, unauthorized immigrants are not eligible to purchase plans through the state’s health insurance market.
Almost two-thirds, 64% of respondents support providing food assistance to all eligible, low-income families, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Currently, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for the California Food Stamp Program, but can apply for assistance on behalf of US-born children.
The survey also found that 57% of respondents have access to healthcare to all eligible low-income residents through Medi-Cal, the state’s public health insurance program, regardless of their immigration status.
Last year, California became the country’s first state to provide health insurance to undocumented immigrants for low-income, low-income people. That expansion has been criticized in part because of Medi-Cal costs far exceed the original budget estimates.
As part of a nonpartisan investigation, San Francisco-based David Binder Research interviewed voters on mobile phones, landline phones, online, English and Spanish between March 19th and 24th, with 47% identified as Democrats and 28% identified as Republicans, generally reflecting the California election.
The survey revealed that even moderate California voters deem undocumented immigrants essential to the economy and are worried about economic fallout from Trump’s pledge to carry out a massive deportation. Participants expressed concern that raids targeting farm workers would raise food prices, destroy small businesses with wider deportations and make homes more expensive.
“They are worried that massive deportation will cause disruptions in everyday life,” said Binder, who also votes for Democratic candidates. “They’ll say, ‘I’m really nervous about this because it might cost me and my family.” ”
That sentiment highlights the broader truth in the Golden State. Immigration is important to California’s economy, with about 10.6 million people (27% of all residents) born abroad as of 2023. It is part of other states and has more than twice the share of other countries, according to California’s Institute of Public Policy. Approximately 1.8 million immigrants (about 17%) living in California were not documented in 2022, according to the Pew Research Center.
Unauthorized immigrants account for an estimated 7% of the state’s workforce in 2022, with some sectors dependent on the workforce deeply, according to the Pew Research Center. At least half of California’s estimated 255,700 farmers have not been documented, according to UC Merced Research.
The California investigation hit a different tone from several national votes that found Americans generally support the immigration policy of the Trump administration gathering. For example, a March CBS News/YouGov poll found that 58% of Americans approved a regime program to deport immigrants in the country without approval.
In contrast, a California survey found that around six in ten voters support all Californians accessing legitimate processes, regardless of whether the person is undocumented or criminally convicted. This could indicate that the Trump administration’s efforts to frame deportation strategies as a public safety initiative have been “flat” with California voters, according to research summary.
“Instead of a massive deportation, Californians want to further integrate immigration into our state’s structure, regardless of their legal status,” said Tom Wong, director of the U.S. Center for Immigration Policy at UC San Diego, who was not involved in the investigation.
Masih Fouladi, executive director of the Center for Immigration Rights Group California Immigration Policy, said the survey affirms the efforts their advocates are pushing in Sacramento, including increasing funding for immigrants’ legal services and protecting access to healthcare.
“It shows that Californians still believe in California for everyone,” said Fouladi, who was not involved in the vote.
This article is part of the Times Equity Report initiative funded by the James Irvine Foundation, which examines the challenges faced by low-income workers and efforts to address economic disparities in California.
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