SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is now the first state in the nation to provide health insurance to undocumented immigrants. It's a historic moment for all undocumented immigrants who now find themselves eligible for health insurance.
"I feel very happy and at the same time proud because they understand our rights as immigrants and the undocumented people who we are. I thank God that the governor took it upon his conscience to sign that law," said Victoria Poz Mas in Spanish.
Victoria Poz Mas is a mother of three and is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala.
She's also a representative for the Greater Sacramento chapter of Lideres Campesinas, which advocates to improve the lives of farmworker communities.
She said undocumented immigrants often suffer from the consequences of not having health insurance.
"From what we hear from these communities, they're mostly just relying on home remedies and waiting until they're having a life-threatening emergency and showing up at the ER and, other than that, just really going without any healthcare," said Sarah Dar, policy director for the California Immigrant Policy Center.
She said having health insurance should be a human right.
"We are the ones who are out working in the field. We're the ones growing vegetables. All the apples, fruits, so we no longer want to work in hiding. We want to work with transparency," said Poz Mas in Spanish.
But not everyone supports the new law.
Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli, whose parents are immigrants, introduced a bill this week that would take the taxpayers off the hook for funding the new law.
"I know that some people think that this sounds harsh or tough... My parents are immigrants of this country. They're legal immigrants. So if we had unlimited money, I would say, 'Sure let's do this. Let's help anyone that we can. But that's just not the reality," said Essayli.
He said with the state's $68 billion deficit, the state simply can't afford it.
"When we're going to have to make tough cuts, I just think it is unconscionable that we would spend billions of dollars to take care of citizens of other countries before we take care of our own people," said Essayli.
If you are an undocumented immigrant or if you have family members who are seeking to be covered under this new law, reach out to organizations that can help. Victoria said they have someone with their organization that you can call at 805-767-0000.
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