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Thousands of immigrants lawfully in California set to lose CalFresh benefits
Thousands of immigrants, including refugees and asylees, in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
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Thousands of immigrants lawfully in California set to lose CalFresh benefits
The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Congress passed last year. LAist's Elly Yu has more on who stands to lose eligibility, and how many people it will affect.
Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Congress passed last year.
The changes remove eligibility for certain noncitizens, including people with refugee status and victims of trafficking. It also applies to immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special immigrant visas for helping the U.S. government overseas.
”These are folks … many of whom have large families that we have a commitment to as a country because we welcomed them and invited them here to find a place of refuge,” said Cambria Tortorelli, president of the International Institute of Los Angeles, a refugee resettlement agency. “They’re authorized to work and they’ve been brought here by the U.S. government.”
The federal spending bill, H.R. 1, made sweeping cuts to social safety net programs, including food assistance and Medicaid. In signing the bill, President Donald Trump said the changes were delivering on his campaign promises of “America first.”
Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. The state estimates about 72,000 immigrants with lawful presence will be affected across California.
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In 2025, the state increased payments for people who took time off to care for a child or a family member.
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CalFresh is the state’s version of the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Undocumented immigrants have not been eligible to receive CalFresh benefits.
State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.
Who the changes apply to:
- Asylees
- Refugees
- Parolees (unless they are Cuban and Haitian entrants)
- Individuals with deportation or removal withheld
- Conditional entrants
- Victims of trafficking
- Battered noncitizens
- Iraqi or Afghan with special immigrant visas (SIV) who are not lawful permanent residents (LPR)
- Certain Afghan Nationals granted parole between July 31, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023
- Certain Ukrainian Nationals granted parole between Feb. 24, 2022, and Sep. 30, 2024
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