California historically has welcomed immigrants with open arms and helped them find footing in their new country. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, himself an immigrant, wants to change that.

Schwarzenegger is proposing cutting almost all public services for new, authorized immigrants who work and pay taxes: emergency food aid, cash assistance, job training, child care and health care.

Most low-income people are eligible to receive some form of all of those services from the federal government, but not immigrants; Congress took their benefits away in 1996, and they must wait five years to enroll in public assistance programs. Realizing that immigrants are a valuable part of California's economy -- they make up one-third of the state's workforce and contribute one-third of its revenue -- California stepped up at the time. But facing a budget crisis, Schwarzenegger has decided to target some of the poorest and most vulnerable residents of his state to save a measly 1.5 percent of the deficit.

The effect of these cuts will be disastrous for immigrants struggling to gain footing in their new country. A nonpartisan state think tank concluded that the proposal would cause thousands of people to become homeless, go hungry, get sick and die. Sign the letter to tell Gov. Schwarzenegger that cutting services that many people need to survive is unacceptable and insist that he cut 1.5 percent from something that's not a matter of life and death.

Photo credit: Christian Haugen