City’s pilot-project welfare program bars whites, Asians, Hispanics

(JUST THE NEWS) – A new Sacramento unrestricted cash welfare pilot program that will distribute $725 per month to selected low-income parents or guardians of black or indigenous children allows individuals to apply regardless of immigration status.

The program does not provide an option for parents of white, Asian, or Hispanic children, leading critics to wonder why the county adopted racial restrictions when a needs-based program would be more fair and less subject to legal scrutiny.

“The County’s consideration of race is problematic because the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids the government from classifying individuals based on race. This program would be presumptively invalid unless it is remedying specific discriminatory acts by the government,” said Andrew Quinio, Pacific Legal Foundation attorney, to The Center Square. “That doesn’t seem to be the case here. It is unclear what discriminatory laws or policies by Sacramento are causing disproportionate outcomes for low-income families that merits a discriminatory solution.”