California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) is a left-of-center policy think tank and advocacy organization that defends illegal immigrants. The center was founded as the California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative in 1996 before rebranding as the California Immigrant Policy Center in 2018.

The center is made up by a steering committee composed of 13 statewide organizations, 85 member organizations, and nine regional coalition partners. ¹ CIPC is also a local affiliate of the National Immigration Law Center. ² The center’s largest funders include the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, the California Wellness Foundation, the Blue Shield of California Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation.

CIPC advocates for providing healthcare, unemployment benefits, tax credits, and taxpayer-funded job training for illegal immigrants. The center also opposes deportation of illegal immigrants, including those who commit local and state crimes, and aims to ban state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal law enforcement to enforce immigration law.

History

California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) was founded as the California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative in 1996 in reaction to Proposition 187, which attempted to ban illegal immigrants from accessing taxpayer-funded social services. ³ The group later rebranded as the California Immigrant Policy Center, gaining tax-exempt status under that name in 2018. ⁴

The center is made up by a steering committee composed of 13 statewide organizations, 85 member organizations, and nine regional coalition partners. ⁵ The board of directors for the center includes Marc Philpart, executive director of the California Black Freedom Fund. ⁶ CIPC is also a local affiliate of the National Immigration Law Center. ⁷

Funding

CIPC is funded by several major private and corporate foundations. In 2021, the center received a $400,000 grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. ⁸ The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund has been a frequent funder of CIPC, issuing a total of $2,145,500 in grants to the center from 2018 to 2023. ⁹ The center received donations of $250,000 in 2018 and $200,000 in 2019 from Luminate. ¹⁰ CIPC also received grants from the California Wellness Foundation ($750,000), the Blue Shield of California Foundation ($700,000), the Grove Foundation ($230,000), the James Irvine Foundation ($512,500), and the Heising-Simons Foundation ($100,000). ¹¹

Policy

California Immigrant Policy Center ’s policy prescriptions cover a wide range of immigration issues and focus on providing government benefits to illegal immigrants. The center advocates for universal access to government-run health care for all California residents regardless of immigration status or income level. ¹²

The center also advocates for non-health taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants equal to and beyond those received by American citizens. CIPC supports providing unemployment benefits and the Earned Income Tax Credit to illegal immigrants, waiving the requirement for a Social Security Number for employment, forcing companies to alert immigrant workers if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests information from them, and extensive affirmative action. In addition, the center claims credit for securing $40 million in taxpayer funding for job training for immigrants as well as prioritizing illegal immigrants over native Californians in the California COVID-19 stimulus package. ¹³

CIPC also opposes the enforcement of immigration law in any capacity. The center is a member of the ICE Out of California coalition, which seeks to prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from operating within the state and to prevent state and local police from turning over immigrant criminals to ICE for deportation. In addition, CIPC is a member of the Check the Sheriff Coalition, with the goal of preventing local sheriffs from working with federal immigration law enforcement under threat of removal from office. The center supports Los Angeles being made a sanctuary city. ¹⁴

1. “California Immigrant Policy Center 2021 Impact Report.” Issue Lab. January 27, 2022. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://search.issuelab.org/resource/california-immigrant-policy-center-2021-impact-report.html
2. “California Advocacy and Research Organizations.” National Immigration Law Center. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://www.nilc.org/get-involved/links/aro/calres/.
3. “About Us.” California Immigrant Policy Center. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://caimmigrant.org/about-us/
4. “California Immigrant Policy Center.” GuideStar. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/81-5304541
5. “California Immigrant Policy Center 2021 Impact Report.” Issue Lab. January 27, 2022. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://search.issuelab.org/resource/california-immigrant-policy-center-2021-impact-report.html
6. “Board of Directors.” California Immigrant Policy Center. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://caimmigrant.org/about-us/board-of-directors/
7. “California Advocacy and Research Organizations.” National Immigration Law Center. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://www.nilc.org/get-involved/links/aro/calres/.
8.  “California Immigrant Policy Center Inc.” David and Lucille Packard Foundation. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/california-immigrant-policy-center-inc/
9. “California Immigrant Policy Center: Grant Making History.” Haas Jr. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://www.haasjr.org/grants/grantee/california-immigrant-policy-center
10. “California Immigrant Policy Center.” Luminate Group. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://www.luminategroup.com/investee/california-immigrant-policy-center
11. “California Immigrant Policy Center.” CauseIQ. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/california-immigrant-policy-center,815304541/
12. “Health4All.” California Immigrant Policy Center. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://caimmigrant.org/what-we-do/policy/health-public-benefits/health4all-bill/
13. “Economic Justice.” California Immigrant Policy Center. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://caimmigrant.org/what-we-do/policy/economic-justice/
14. “Fighting Mass Detention and Deportation.” California Immigrant Policy Center. Accessed December 22, 2023. https://caimmigrant.org/what-we-do/policy/fighting-mass-detention-deportation/