A conservative legal group is asking the California Supreme Court to block California Governor Gavin Newsom from using state funds to help undocumented immigrants during the coronavirus crisis.
Last week, Newsom announced he would put $75 million into a public-private Disaster Relief Fund to provide one-time grants of $500 to undocumented workers not eligible for unemployment insurance.
But an emergency petition -- filed by Republican party official Harmeet Dhillon and the Center for American Liberty on Wednesday -- claims it's illegal to give unemployment benefits to people who aren't authorized to work. And it questions the legality of distributing public funds through non-profits.
A spokesman for Newsom says the fund is "legally justified and morally necessary."
— Tyche Hendricks (@tychehendricks)