Overview
- After Tuesday’s CNN debate, Katie Porter said undocumented immigrants are one of the only recent sources of growth in California and backed taxpayer-funded healthcare for them.
- Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer echoed support for state-funded care for low-income residents without legal status, revisiting a benefit Governor Gavin Newsom expanded then pared back.
- State figures show a 2025 loss from domestic migration and a smaller gain from foreign migration, and PPIC estimates about 400,000 undocumented arrivals from 2021 to 2023, numbers now central to candidates’ arguments.
- Republican candidates Steve Hilton and Sheriff Chad Bianco rejected expanded coverage during the debate, arguing people in the country illegally should not receive state benefits.
- With mail voting underway for the June 2 top-two primary, Porter doubled down by reposting a Fox News clip with “I approve this message” as polls show her trailing in single digits.