GOP opposes California tuition aid for Illegal Immigrants

By Esther Wickham
The Center Square

Republicans are pushing back against California programs that provide taxpayer-funded tuition assistance to illegal immigrants, arguing the policies divert resources from the state’s taxpayers.

The California Dream Act Application allows illegal immigrants and students from mixed-status families to access state-funded financial aid for higher education.

The program applies to students attending public universities. There are currently around 9,500 California State University illegal immigrant students and about 4,000 University of California illegal immigrant students.

“Undocumented Californians are tax-paying residents,” Marissa Saldivar, assistant deputy director of communications for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, told The Center Square.

California Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, rejected that argument, calling it a “diversionary tactic” in an exclusive interview with The Center Square.

“Whether they pay some sales tax here and there is irrelevant,” DeMaio said. “We’re talking about billions of dollars that our taxpayers in California are now being forced to pay, and fewer services are being provided to citizens, and worse treatment is being given to U.S. citizens versus illegals.”

According to the California Budget and Policy Center, illegal immigrants paid an estimated $8.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022.

That same year, California residents paid an average of $3,734.82 in state income taxes. With roughly 19.6 million taxpaying residents, that equates to about $73.2 billion in state income tax revenue, not including sales taxes or higher-income tax brackets.

Some California educators argue that universities should continue to expand protections for illegal immigrant students.

“Universities have to keep showing support for the undocumented by making them sanctuary spaces where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot enter to detain and deport students,” Julián Jefferies, an associate professor of literacy and reading education at Cal State Fullerton, said. “Universities have a role in informing and advocating against the criminalization of immigrants, their scapegoating in the public media and [for] movement toward humane immigration policy.”

DeMaio told The Center Square the CDAA is “reckless and unfair to taxpayers” and incentivizes illegal immigration.

“As long as you dangle taxpayer-funded freebies to illegal immigrants, they will keep coming,” DeMaio said. “What we are doing in California is felony negligence … While the federal government is trying to secure our border, you have Democrat politicians openly promoting and advertising giveaways at taxpayer expense.”

DeMaio also argued these policies create a disadvantage for U.S. citizens seeking higher education.

“When you prioritize an illegal immigrant over U.S. citizens, you’re giving them the ability to get into a school when that slot could be for a U.S. citizen,” DeMaio said. “Or you’re allowing them to enroll in a high-demand class and take a seat from a U.S. citizen.”

DeMaio criticized Newsom’s continued efforts to enforce pro-illegal immigration ambitions and policies.

“Gavin Newsom is running for president,” DeMaio said. “I want every single voter in the nation to know that Gavin Newsom treats their son and daughter worse than someone here illegally.”