Thousands of East Bay immigrants will lose food stamps beginning April 1

The Weekly Dispatch

Community-powered immigration news from the Bay Area.

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Welcome to El Tímpano’s Weekly Dispatch. I’m Erica Hellerstein, senior immigration, labor, and economics reporter.

Life in the Bay Area is expensive, often maddeningly so. For many people across the region, just getting by is a struggle, and often means making tough choices. Rent, groceries, gas prices, and utility bills all keep climbing, while wages often don’t keep pace.

For U.S. citizens, it’s hard enough to make ends meet. But for immigrants, these pressures can be even sharper. 

Over the past few months, a series of policy changes at both the state and federal level have made it harder for many immigrant families to stay afloat. Now, another change is on the horizon, one that will leave tens of thousands of legally present immigrants in California without access to food assistance, even as inflation continues to batter households statewide.

Starting April 1, new federal rules will limit who qualifies for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh. The change comes from a provision in H.R. 1, also referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law by President Trump last July.

The landmark piece of legislation enacted the steepest cuts to health care and food assistance in U.S. history. The law slashed SNAP funding by an estimated $186 billion over the next decade. In California, these cuts are expected to decrease funding for SNAP by up to $3.7 billion annually.

Along with those cuts, the law will make certain groups of lawfully present immigrants ineligible for the benefits. People with humanitarian protections who were previously eligible for SNAP, such as refugees, asylees, and trafficking survivors, will no longer qualify. State estimates suggest that about 72,000 people will lose their CalFresh benefits as a result.

Here in the East Bay, local organizations are already bracing for the impact. 

In Alameda County, an estimated 5,400 lawfully present immigrants are expected to lose their CalFresh benefits as a result of the changes, according to data shared with me from the Alameda County Community Food Bank. The nonprofit has been meeting regularly with the Alameda County Social Services Agency to better understand the impact of the cuts and connect with affected residents.

“This is going to impact a lot of families, individuals and households, and unfortunately, the numbers are higher than we originally anticipated,” said Liz Gomez, who oversees CalFresh outreach at the Alameda County Community Food Bank, which helps county residents apply for food stamps. “So that’s not good news. None of this is good news.”

In Contra Costa County, approximately 1,114 people would lose CalFresh eligibility under the changes, according to the Contra Costa County Employment & Human Services Department, which helps residents enroll in CalFresh. The Alameda County Social Services Agency did not respond to a request for data by publication.

At the state level, funding has not accounted for these changes. The state legislature has held several hearings to discuss the issue, including one this week. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget, which was released in January, “did not address the imminent loss of CalFresh benefits due to H.R. 1,” Monica Saucedo, a senior policy fellow with the California Budget and Policy Center, told me via email.

Some local efforts are beginning to take shape. Alameda County’s Social Services Agency is developing a Food Security Work Group aimed at expanding access to community food distributions through partnerships with local community organizations. Meanwhile, in both Contra Costa and Solano Counties, the food bank is working with local officials to share information and connect residents with available resources.

These changes are unfolding as immigrant families are already grappling with uncertainty about the security of enrolling in CalFresh. The two East Bay food banks say fears of immigration enforcement, along with worries about how personal data might be shared with government agencies, are discouraging some people from claiming food stamp benefits they are eligible for. These concerns aren’t unfounded, given revelations that the Trump administration has asked the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to share enrollment data with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Undocumented immigrants do not qualify for CalFresh, but parents without legal status can apply for benefits on behalf of their U.S.-born children. However some mixed-status households are now choosing not to seek this support, the food banks told me, worried that signing up for food stamps could expose mixed-status families to immigration enforcement. 

“We definitely continue to see a decrease in interest in applying for CalFresh,” Gomez told me. “And I think a lot of this has to do with just all of the information that’s out there and generally fear around government benefits and data sharing. So that is still continuing.”

Recent data from the California Department of Social Services does show declining numbers of CalFresh enrollment compared to last year. As of January 2026, 168,038 people in Alameda County and 105,370 people in Contra Costa County were enrolled in CalFresh, according to the California Department of Social Services. Both counties have seen a drop of between five and eight thousand since last summer.

Even as enrollment drops and some people lose eligibility, support is still available at the two East Bay food banks. Both provide assistance at free food distributions, which residents can access regardless of immigration status. Both also offer options designed for people who are afraid of leaving the house due to increased immigration enforcement.

Contra Costa County residents can privately pick up groceries instead of going to a food bank distribution at select refrigerated lockers in the county. In Alameda County, residents can enroll in a program that delivers food directly to their homes. 

I’ll continue to track the impact of these changes, as well as the progress of local initiatives like Alameda County’s Food Security Work Group. If you are based in the East Bay and work with people who will be impacted by the cuts to CalFresh, I want to hear from you. Please contact me at ehellerstein@eltimpano.org.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and see you next week.

Ear to the Ground

El Tímpano’s text messaging (SMS) service reaches more than 6,500 Spanish-speaking immigrants across the Bay Area. During last year’s government shutdown in October, which delayed SNAP benefits, many community members told us that their CalFresh benefits are a key resource for feeding their families—with some describing it as essential for getting through the first weeks of each month—and expressed worry about how to manage without this support. Others asked how to apply for these benefits, sharing that job loss, being a single parent, and other challenges add to their food insecurity. Here are some of the responses we received:

With [CalFresh], I buy food at the stores and pick up some vegetables from food banks, since what I receive in retirement benefits goes toward paying the rent.

—Concord resident

We have no money and can’t buy food for the family. And we’re having trouble paying the rent.

—Rodeo resident

How can I get that food assistance? I’m a single mother and looking for work.

—San Pablo resident

I don’t have a job, and EBT is a support for me and my daughter—for her food.

—Oakland resident

• North Bay agricultural laborers and employers report ICE threats having a chilling effect on jobs, wages

California

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• Teens walked out of school to protest ICE. Police are investigating the adults who helped them

• State Schools Leader Urges ICE to Return Deported Deaf Child to California

National

• Abused and neglected youths granted immigration protections are being detained and deported

• Supreme Court to hear expedited arguments on protected status for migrants

• As Trump pushes deportations, immigration data becomes harder to find

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