California’s Newsom Wants Health Coverage for Illegal Immigrants

California’s Newsom Wants Health Coverage for Illegal Immigrants
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about his 2021–2022 state budget proposal during a news conference in Sacramento on Jan. 8, 2021. Rich Pedroncelli, Pool, File/AP Photo
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SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California would be the first state to provide health coverage to all immigrants in the country illegally under the budget Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed Jan. 10.

It’s part of his effort to address what he termed five of the most populous state’s biggest challenges in a $286.4 billion budget that builds on a surplus projected by the Legislative Analyst to be at least $31 billion. Newsom’s budget proposal uses a much bigger surplus estimate because his administration uses a different definition of what counts as a surplus.