U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

10/28/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/28/2025 13:14

Chairman Cruz Sounds Alarm on New California Law Giving Free Smartphones to Illegal Aliens

Chairman Cruz Sounds Alarm on New California Law Giving Free Smartphones to Illegal Aliens

October 28, 2025

Chairman Cruz Sounds Alarm on New California Law Giving Free Smartphones to Illegal Aliens

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wants additional scrutiny on California's use of taxpayer money to buy smartphones for illegal aliens. As Democrats prolong the government shutdown, demanding that American taxpayers provide free health care for illegal aliens, California has enacted a new state law making illegal aliens eligible for phone subsidies.

In letters to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sen. Cruz explained that California Assembly Bill 1303 not only extends the California Lifeline subsidy to illegal aliens but also explicitly prohibits cooperation with federal immigration authorities, impeding their ability to enforce federal immigration law. Sen. Cruz warned that this measure undermines federal law, encourages unlawful entry, and misuses taxpayer dollars.

Sen. Cruz called on Mr. Carr and Ms. Bondi to ensure the California law complies with federal law in order to restore transparency and ensure taxpayer dollars are not misused to subsidize and encourage illegal immigration.

Read the full letters here or here.

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