By Justo Robles

California, home to the nation’s largest immigrant population, officially became a sanctuary state in 2017, limiting the state’s cooperation with federal agents at a time when the Trump administration sought to crack down on undocumented communities. Under Gov. Gavin Newsom, California has maintained and, in some ways, expanded that status.

Soon after taking office in 2019, Newsom said “the one area that California should do more is on immigration policy.” 

Four years later, California has expanded its health coverage for immigrants 50 and older. In January, all low-income undocumented people, regardless of age, will qualify for Medi-Cal. Already about a million undocumented Californians have drivers licenses, but recently those who don’t drive or can’t take the driver’s test were allowed to obtain a state ID. 

Farmworkers involved in state investigations of wage theft and labor violations can qualify for free legal help. And immigrants who are victims of crimes or witnesses are encouraged to come forward without fear of being turned over to immigration authorities, thanks to a new law. 

Newsom also signed a bill to remove the derogatory term “alien” used to describe non-citizens from the state code. 

During this time, Florida has moved in the other direction under Gov. Ron DeSantis, who frequently calls migrants “aliens” and “illegals.”

In May, he signed what immigration experts have cataloged as one of the harshest state immigration laws in the country. 

The law imposes stiffer penalties for businesses that hire unauthorized workers, makes it a felony to transport groups of undocumented immigrants into Florida, requires hospitals to record the immigration status of patients and invalidates driver’s licenses that other states including California issue to those without legal status.

The law also allocated $12 million to fund DeSantis’ controversial effort to transport migrants to sanctuary jurisdictions, such as California and Massachusetts.

In June, when Florida claimed responsibility for flying 36 migrants to Sacramento, Newsom suggested the operation may amount to kidnapping.