A state can use large-scale grants and contracts to underwrite nonprofit legal, shelter, and transport networks that litigate against deportations, provide logistics on migration routes, and stage protests—effectively turning fiscal policy into an immigration enforcement lever. The article alleges California under Governor Gavin Newsom spent roughly $1 billion on such organizations, naming recipients and contract amounts.
— If states bankroll activist legal and service networks, fiscal policy becomes a tool for shaping national immigration flows and enforcement politics, changing federal–state dynamics and electoral incentives.
Christopher F. Rufo, Susan Crabtree
2026.04.22
100% relevant
California state funding records and the article’s catalogue of contracts (e.g., ~$250M to Catholic Charities; $85M to Jewish Family Services; $2M+ to Al Otro Lado) presented as evidence that Newsom’s administration directed public money to organizations that provide transport, shelter, legal defense, and anti‑ICE advocacy.
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