Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) issued the following statement this morning after Governor Gavin Newsom announced major rollbacks to his disastrous plan to provide free healthcare to illegal immigrants:
“We warned him,” said Leader Jones. “I urged the governor to immediately freeze his reckless Medi-Cal expansion for illegal immigrants a year and a half ago, before it buried our healthcare system and bankrupted the state. Had he listened, we wouldn’t be in this crisis—breaking promises, scrambling for loans, and cutting services for legal Californians just to keep this broken program afloat.”
In January 2024, Leader Jones sent a letter to Newsom calling for an immediate freeze of the Medi-Cal expansion to illegal immigrants, citing out-of-control costs and unfair impacts on legal residents. Governor Newsom ignored those warnings and refused to take action, despite facing a multi-billion deficit at the time. Now, faced with a staggering $12 billion deficit, the governor is being forced to admit the program is financially unsustainable and is finally reversing course.
“Let’s be clear: Democrats are prioritizing illegal immigrants over citizens,” Leader Jones continued. “With a massive deficit largely driven by this policy, our focus should be on preserving Medi-Cal for those it was originally designed to serve. Even Governor Jerry Brown understood this was a bad idea and refused to go down this path. After seven years of reckless expansions, Newsom is now backtracking to the same position Brown held from the beginning. It’s time to end the political games, immediately freeze this program, and restore Medi-Cal to serve those who are here legally.”
Governor Newsom initially estimated the free healthcare for illegal immigrants program at $3 billion a year. Last year, it ballooned to well over $11 billion and counting, as many predicted would happen. Earlier this year, the governor scrambled to find an extra $6.2 billion to keep the program afloat through June. Californians are paying the price for Newsom’s refusal to face reality. Polling shows that 60% of California voters oppose providing free healthcare for illegal immigrants—yet Newsom chose to push forward anyway.
Even with the new proposed restrictions, including $100 premiums and a freeze on new adult enrollments starting January 2026, Newsom’s actions fall short.
“Gavin-onomics is making irresponsible choices and blaming everyone else for the fallout. Freezing new enrollees at the end of the year is too little, too late. The freeze should be immediate. And to keep this failed program alive, Newsom is now cutting care for legal residents, including support for the developmentally disabled.
"If Newsom hadn’t played politics by expanding this program in the first place, we wouldn’t be staring down a $12 billion deficit. Now he’s scrambling to shift blame—pointing to fires, tariffs, and everything under the sun—when the truth is, this crisis is the direct result of his reckless giveaways to illegal immigrants. It’s outrageous—and he owns this budget crisis,” concluded Leader Jones.