SAVANAH HERNANDEZ REPORTS: California sent thousands in cash to illegal immigrants with no oversight over four years

A whistleblower who worked with the Los Angeles homeless services has come forward with inside documents exposing thousands of dollars in cash assistance that LA county has been providing to illegal immigrants over the last four years, stating that migrants are still being given free housing throughout LA County. Payments ranged from $1300-$1800 dollars a month, including free housing, down payments for apartments and taxpayer funded food stamps. 

"They're still being housed—and sometimes for more than a year, recently I've heard of programs where they're housing them for a five year program," the whistleblower explained. "They are receiving $1,300 to $1,800 dollars a month, and from $600 to $900 on food stamps".

The whistleblower, who goes by Jane Doe, worked for LAHSA, the Los Angeles Housing Service Authority, for the last 5 years and detailed payments of up to $2,300 dollars a month for migrant families under California's Calworks and CalFresh programs. The Calworks program is described as "a welfare program that gives cash aid and services to eligible California families in need," per the California Department of Social Services. 

This welfare program, previously only available to American citizens, has been extended to illegal immigrants per Doe. 

"For the longest time we weren't allowed to make them eligible to receive these services," Doe states, "then all of a sudden with the new programs that the Biden administration put—we have immigrants receiving resources that before were only available for American citizens."  

The documents from the Homeless Management Information System of LA County detail how migrants have been entered into the housing system as recently as January of this year and further confirm that migrants have had the ability to enroll their children in local schools, get on the list for Section 8 housing and even receive up to $1,300 dollars for down payments on apartments. 

Doe also provided the addresses where migrants are being housed, with one location currently listed for almost one million dollars on Zillow, bringing rent estimates to over $4,000 dollars a month. One of the families living at this location received $2,300 dollars a month, via Calworks and CalFresh, from March through December of 2024 with insiders stating this family is still receiving these benefits into 2025. 

With Calworks, migrants can go to "any ATM and cash out", Doe states, detailing how migrants can use this cash for anything they'd like with zero oversight. Doe detailed the rampant fraud and lies the migrants would tell her to continue receiving the maximum amount of money via welfare programs

Doe primarily worked with migrants ranging from countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua and has stated that despite all of the benefits, migrants want to go back home to their countries. 

"The majority of them want to go back," Doe stated, "they are not interested in staying in the US – they have this entitlement that their culture is better."

 She then goes on to state how many migrants are here to make money and plan on going back to their countries, but "don't want to go back empty handed.”

MediCal, another California welfare program that back in 2022 was extended to provide free healthcare to illegal immigrants, has made headlines this week after Governor Gavin Newsom's Department of Finance asked for a $3.4 billion dollar loan to help with the shortfall related to funding this program. This program, often offered alongside CalWorks and CalFresh, is one that Doe states is also offered to illegal immigrants upon entering the state.

Despite the change in administration, the "sanctuary state" of California highlights the current fight between the federal government and Democrat run states on the issue of illegal immigration. While the Trump administration has made promises of mass deportations for illegal immigrants, many states are still circumventing federal law to shield illegal immigrants from deportation.