California

33% (2,938,141) of the 9,034,737 children in California have immigrant parents who are not U.S. citizens.

1,073,993 children in California have undocumented immigrant parents.1

596,613 children are U.S. citizens with undocumented immigrant parents.

253,719 children are under age 5 with undocumented immigrant parents.

1,864,148 children have a legal permanent resident (LPR) parent.2,3

1,690,134 children are U.S. citizens with an LPR parent.

542,443 children are under age 5 with an LPR parent.

How long have their undocumented immigrant parents been living in the U.S.?

17% less than 5 years.

14% 5-10 years.

69% 10+ years.

How long have their LPR parents been living in the U.S.?

13% less than 5 years.

11% 5-10 years.

76% 10+ years.

Enforcement Policies

Counties with limited cooperation with ICE detainer requests (2019)4: Yes All

Counties with 287(g) Agreement - Jail Model5: None

Counties with 287(g) Agreement - Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Model6: None

Driver's license for undocumented immigrants7: Yes

Public Benefits

Food Assistance for LPR adults during the five-year bar8: Yes

Public Health Insurance coverage for LPR children during the five-year bar8: Yes

Public Health Insurance coverage for undocumented immigrant children: Yes

Public Health Insurance coverage for LPR pregnant women during the five-year bar8: Yes

Public Health Insurance coverage for undocumented pregnant immigrant women: Yes

The Technical Appendix describes the methods used to collect data for the State Immigration Policy Pages.

The Longitudinal Data File provides all State Immigration Policy variables for the years 2017-2020. For policy data spanning the years 2000-2016, please visit Urban’s resource.

State demographic data calculated by Dr. James Bachmeier, Associate Professor at Temple University.

  1. Estimates of parents with undocumented immigrant status were calculated using combined sample multiple imputation. The American Community Survey 2018 was merged with the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Details of the methodology are described in Estimating the Characteristics of Unauthorized Immigrants Using U.S. Census Data: Combined Sample Multiple Imputation, The Annals of the American Academy of Polictical and Social Science, 2018. Estimates were adjusted for undercount, based on estimates in Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States, Migration Policy Institute, 2020.
  2. Lawful permanent residents (LPRs), also known as "green card" holders, are non-U.S. citizens who are lawfully authorized to live permanently within the United States.
  3. Estimates of parents with LPR status were calculated using combined sample multiple imputation. The American Community Survey 2018 was merged with the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Details of the methodology are described in Estimating the Characteristics of Unauthorized Immigrants Using U.S. Census Data: Combined Sample Multiple Imputation, The Annals of the American Academy of Polictical and Social Science, 2018. Estimates were adjusted for undercount, based on estimates in Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States, Migration Policy Institute, 2020. Described in more detail in previous footnote for undocumented status imputation.
  4. ICE detainers are formal written requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to local jails and law enforcement requesting that they hold possible offenders for an additional 48 hours after their relsease date. Their purpose serves to allow ICE time to process the case and determine whether or not to take certain individuals into federal custody for deportation. Either all, some or none of the counties with the highest immigrant populations have a policy not to honor some or all ICE detainer requests.
  5. 287(g) Agreements deputize local law enforcement to perform some of the same functions as federal immigration officials. The jail model allows local law enforcement officials to perform more limited functions in jails, such as accessing federal immigration databases, arresting and detaining individuals for suspected immigration violations.
  6. The Warrant Service Officer (WSO) model was developed by the 287(g) program to allow jurisdictions to participate in a more focused cooperative agreement with ICE. As set forth in the Standard Operating Procedures of the Warrant Service Officer Memorandum of Agreement, participating entities of local law enforcement officers are trained, certified, and authorized by ICE to perform limited functions of an immigration officer within the law enforcement agency’s jail and/or correctional facilities. ICE provides a training program conducted by certified instructors at a location most convenient for the participating local enforcement agency.
  7. Allows unauthorized immigrants to apply for driver's licenses and state ID cards; these licenses and IDs are not to be used for federal identification purposes.
  8. In general, legal permanent residents (or green card holders) who entered the U.S. on or after August 22, 1996 must wait five years after obtaining LPR status to become eligible for many public benefits. Some states provide these benefits, with state funds, during this "five-year bar".