California allocates millions to support immigrant families

California is directing $35 million in humanitarian funding toward legal and other support services for the state’s immigrant families.

The governor and legislature have previously allocated millions of dollars toward supporting families impacted by federal immigration policy, and are now also working with philanthropic partners across the state to secure the $35 million. The investment won’t result in cash payments, but will be used to support nonprofits across the state in providing legal support, food assistance and other basic needs.

“While the federal government targets hardworking families, California stands with them – uniting partners and funding local communities to help support their neighbors,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a prepared statement. “The urgent need grows as the Trump Administration accelerates mass detention, tramples due process and funds authoritarian enforcement with over $170 billion. As the Trump Administration chooses cruelty and chaos, California chooses community.”

The San Francisco Foundation, California Community Foundation and the Sierra Health Foundation invested a total of $30 million into this partnership and are working with state officials to connect families to essential support services.

The investment comes amidst extreme and often violent immigration enforcement across the state and country. During the first nine months of 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported at least 8,250 from California, according to ICE data that was processed in UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project.

Compared to the first three months of 2025, deportations from July through September saw a more than 200% increase, according to the Berkeley Project.

Deportations have a ripple effect on communities, especially in California, where over one in five children and 3.3 million people overall live in mixed-status families, according to state data. 

“Federal immigration enforcement has created a humanitarian emergency in our immigrant communities. Through our Los Angeles Neighbors Support Fund, more than $3 million has been made available to more than 3,500 families struggling to meet basic needs, and we are committed to collaborating with partners across California to support immigrant families in crisis,” said Miguel Santana, CEO of California Community Foundation, one of the partners in this initiative.

The $35 million is specifically to be allocated for nonprofits to provide food assistance and legal support, among other things. The designations directly correlate with some of the most harmful effects on immigrants due to various federal policies.

Food assistance, for example, will be essential to helping immigrant families now that there have been changes to the Supplemental and Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh in California.

Not only were the income guidelines for SNAP adjusted, narrowing who is eligible for the food assistance, but the Trump administration also floated the idea of prohibiting legal permanent residents from the program.

The California Health and Human Services Department estimated close to 578,000 families were at risk of losing their benefits due to program changes.

The financial investment is also heavily geared toward helping families pay for legal services.

“These efforts are increasing expertise in the legal representation of habeas matters to help release Californians from unlawful immigration detention, strengthening responses to immigration enforcement and bolstering collaboration between local agencies and the communities receiving services,” said a news release from the governor’s office.

California has also joined a multi-state coalition urging a judge to block the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS)’ indefinite detention policy. 

DHS has reversed a long-standing policy that allowed immigrants in removal proceedings to request a bond hearing. This policy change now results in the indefinite detention of these individuals, denying them the opportunity to argue for their release while their case is pending.

California has previously committed $125 million for other legal service support, including funding for civil proceedings, youth legal services and case management and more.

“We continue to stand in solidarity with our immigrant families. The federal government is waging a war on our communities - and we won’t stand for it,” said Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. “We are putting money behind an effort to stop the fear, stop the separation of our families and stop violating our basic rights.”