California Takes Action to Support Afghan Refugee Arrivals in California

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom, along with Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), took action Sept. 3, to assist Afghan arrivals settling in California. 

The Governor, with support from legislative leaders, is requesting $16.7 million in general funds, which will be used to provide cash assistance and other services for newly arriving Afghans in the state.

California is taking comprehensive action to welcome its new Afghan neighbors through a statewide coordination effort as well as access to health care, public benefits and additional resources. The proposed general fund expenditure is expected to be considered during the legislative session next week. 

Some Afghan arrivals will not be Special Immigration Visa holders, but rather will be paroled into the U.S. for humanitarian reasons. Due to their immigration status, humanitarian parolees are currently ineligible for some refugee benefits and services as well as many federal public assistance programs. However, humanitarian parolees are potentially eligible for state-funded CalWORKs, Medi-Cal and California’s Food Assistance Program, if they meet program eligibility requirements. Notably, as humanitarian parolees, only Afghan arrivals with children could be eligible for CalWORKs, and there is an expected gap in assistance available for Afghans under this status who are without children. The proposed temporary expansion of the state’s Trafficking and Crime Victim Assistance Program or TCVAP will ensure humanitarian parolees without children, who are ineligible for CalWORKs, are able to access important public benefits, if they are otherwise eligible. 

The Newsom administration will lead in this area with further coordination, community engagement and state-funded public benefits to further available resources, including by leveraging the below efforts:  

• To facilitate an organized and coordinated effort, the state has established an interagency working group that will be co-led by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the California Health and Human Services Agency. They will work closely with counties, resettlement agencies, community groups and philanthropic organizations, with the goal of supporting the successful integration of newly arriving Afghans, including the provision of public and privately funded services and support.
• Depending on their immigration status, arriving Afghan individuals and families are eligible for certain public assistance programs, including those funded by the state. Click here for more information regarding public benefit eligibility.
• The Governor proposes $16.7 million to address gaps in federal and state-funded assistance for certain Afghan arrivals through the temporary expansion of TCVAP.
• Recent Afghan arrivals may be eligible for state and federal housing and homelessness resources. A list of state and federal homelessness resources compiled by the California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council can be found here. Local coordination will help leverage these resources. Additional information regarding available resources will be added in the coming weeks.
• $20 million in awards for the California Newcomer Education and Well-Being (CalNEW) program and $1 million in federal funding awards for the Refugee School Impact (RSI) program. The 2020-21 State Budget provided $20 million to California Department of Social Services (CDSS) for the CalNEW program. In addition, the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement appropriated $1 million to implement the RSI program during Federal FY 2022. The funding is allocated to school districts in under-resourced service areas with large numbers of socioeconomically disadvantaged newcomers, undocumented immigrants, language isolated households, unaccompanied minors placements and refugee arrivals, including school districts in regions with an increase in Afghan arrivals.
• The 2021-22 State Budget also included $105.2 million one-time general funds for rapid response to provide humanitarian support to immigrants for emergent needs, which may be available to supplement resettlement efforts and support immediate short-term needs where federal funding is unavailable.

 Gov. Newsom also announced Sept. 3, an expansion of the California Dignity for Families Fund, a public-private partnership with Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, which was established to meet the needs of migrants, migrant families and unaccompanied youth and minors entering California, including individuals and families arriving from Afghanistan. 

The fund has already raised $8.3 million toward its $20 million goal. The Fund’s grantmaking work, in coordination with state agencies, will support humanitarian relief, immigration legal assistance, wraparound services, mental health programs, holistic case management and more.  

California is also partnering with Airbnb.org to help provide free, temporary housing across the state to Afghan arrivals. Airbnb.org has housed more than 100 Afghan arrivals across California thus far and will continue to welcome more in coordination with local refugee resettlement agencies. 

Further support from the federal government will ensure successful resettlement in California and across the country. 

Details: www.cdss.ca.gov/afghan-arrival-response