Finally, a man who understands the new normal. California Governor Gavin Newsom.
He understands that the new normal means government by fiat and executive decree.
But there are always carping critics.
Judicial Watch, for instance, filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California County of Los Angeles on behalf of two California taxpayers, Robin Crest and Howard Myers, asking the court to stop the state from expending $75 million of taxpayer funds to provide direct cash assistance to unlawfully present aliens (Crest et al. v. Newsom et al. (No. 20STCV16321)).
The lawsuit alleges Governor Newsom overstepped his authority and violated federal law when, without affirmative state legislative approval, he took executive action to create the “Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants Project” and provide cash benefits to illegal aliens who are otherwise ineligible for state or federal unemployment insurance or other benefits.
The reason they cannot get state or federal monies for coronavirus is, unfortunately, due solely to the fact that they are in the USA unlawfully.
That is they sneaked in without bothering to go through immigration – or they stayed after they agreed to leave when they were first permitted to come here.
But no matter, on April 15, 2020, Governor Newsom announced his new executive initiative – which is to provide direct assistance in the form of cash benefits to some 150,000 illegal aliens in the state he now runs.
The money will come from taxpayers in the state.
The initiative, known as the “Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants Project,” would spend $75 million to provide direct cash payments to illegal aliens and cost an additional $4.8 million to administer.
Governor Newsom’s executive initiative would provide one-time cash benefits of $500 per adult / $1,000 per household to 150,000 unlawfully present aliens in California. These benefits are not provided to U.S. citizens residing in the state.
You have to be illegally in the US to qualify.
Under federal immigration law, 8 U.S.C. § 1621(a), unlawfully present aliens generally are ineligible for State or local public benefits. Section 1621(d) requires a state legislature to enact a state law which affirmatively provides for such benefits for illegal aliens:
A State may provide that an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States is eligible for any State or local public benefit … only through the enactment of a State law … which affirmatively provides for such eligibility.
The lawsuit alleges that the California State Legislature has not enacted any law that affirmatively provides that unlawfully present aliens are eligible for the $75 million of cash public benefits announced by Newsom.
In order to get the illegals $75 million, it will cost the state almost $5 million to administer the funds.
The Judicial Watch lawsuit seeks to enjoin California “from providing $75 million of taxpayer funds to unlawfully present aliens in violation of federal law and expending an estimated additional $4.8 million of taxpayer funds as well as additional taxpayer-financed resources on the administration of those payments.”
“Governor Newsom has no legal authority on his own to spend state taxpayer money for cash payments to illegal aliens,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The coronavirus challenge doesn’t give politicians a pass to violate the law. If California politicians want to give cash payments to illegal aliens, they must be accountable and transparent, and, as federal law requires, pass a law to do so.”
That won’t stop the good governor.
Although the lawsuit will proceed [likely after the money has been doled out], a judge has already ruled that the urgent need of the illegals justifies the emergency action on the part of the good and very generous governor.
What’s the new normal? It is a lot of things. This is one example.
