Gov. Jerry Brown: Nearly 30% of CA Kids Illegal or 'Don't Speak English'

During Thursday night’s California gubernatorial debate against Republican Neel Kashkari, California Governor Jerry Brown (D) revealed that nearly 30% of the state’s schoolchildren are either illegal immigrants or do not speak English.

Brown, who recently said that illegal immigrants from Mexico were “all welcome in California,” praised his administration’s immigration policies. He said that California is “setting the pace” on immigration laws and mentioned bills he signed that gave driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, made California a sanctuary state (Trust Act), and granted in-state tuition to illegal immigrants (CA DREAM Act). Brown then said that these policies were necessary because “about 30%” of schoolchildren in California are “either undocumented or don’t speak English.” 

A California Immigrant Policy Center report found that there are 2.6 million illegal immigrants in California (or 26% of all immigrants) while illegal immigrants make up nearly 10% of the state’s workforce, including “38% of the agriculture industry and 14% of the construction industry.” 

According to The New York Times, 28% of Californians were born outside the United States in 2012 and, according to Pew Research, “Latinos make up nearly 40% of the state’s population and have made California ‘only the second state, behind New Mexico, where whites are not the majority and Latinos are the plurality.'”