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Jun 30, 2025

Governor Newsom proclaims Immigrant Heritage Month 2025

Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring June 2025, as “Immigrant Heritage Month” in the State of California.

The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below:

PROCLAMATION Immigrant Heritage Month is an opportunity to honor the rich histories of those who came before us and those who continue to make California home. Behind the immigrant journey is a story that deserves to be heard and honored, leaving behind the familiar to pursue the American dream, hoping to give the next generation a better life. Immigrants and their children have helped build the California we know today, through their hard work, innovation, and cultural contributions, and through the lives they have made here, the families they have raised, and the communities they have strengthened. For many immigrants, resilience is not an abstract value. It is found in the parent who leaves for work before sunrise, the grandparents who crossed borders and oceans for a family they hoped would one day thrive, and the neighbor who keeps going despite fear, uncertainty, and hardships. With immigration at the forefront of public and political discourse, we recognize that many immigrant communities are carrying fear and pain. Immigrant families and workers are being targeted, Californians’ legal statuses are being ripped away, and businesses are navigating disruption and increased unpredictability for their workforce and operations. Even through this uncertainty, Californians are not allowing themselves to be defined by those challenges. Neighbors are showing up for neighbors, reinforcing how much immigrant families are part of the fabric of our communities. To love California is to love the generations of immigrants who have helped make this state more dynamic and more connected to the world. California is the global powerhouse it is today because of all those who call this state home—because of the immigrants who help fuel our economy, better understand one another, and remind us that the California Dream is worth striving for. While the federal government is challenging who belongs and who doesn’t, in California, we embrace our immigrant communities because we know our diversity is our strength. Through the California Council on Immigrant Integration and Talent, we drive collaboration to leverage the diverse talents and assets of immigrant communities, helping more families secure good, family-supporting jobs, and supporting immigration-driven innovation and economic growth for the benefit of all Californians. California continues to take action to support immigrant families, workers, and entrepreneurs with the tools and opportunities they need to thrive. We call on the federal government to stop sabotaging due process and the legal immigration system, and for Congress to create a meaningful pathway to citizenship for those who have been here for years, paying their taxes, and being good members of our communities. This month belongs to many communities whose stories, languages, traditions, and futures are now part of California’s own. We honor their histories, recognize their struggles, and appreciate their courage and resilience. NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim June 2026, as “Immigrant Heritage Month.” IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 2nd day of June 2026. GAVIN NEWSOM Governor of California ATTEST: SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D. Secretary of State

PROCLAMATION

California proudly celebrates Immigrant Heritage Month, recognizing and embracing our immigrant communities that boldly strengthen and fuel our state. We are honored by and better for the people who have chosen to pursue the California Dream.

As the world’s fourth-largest economy, California recognizes the vital contributions immigrants and their families make to sustaining a healthy and growing economy. We also know that their contributions span every imaginable facet of life in this state. From education to innovation, public safety to health, and everything in between, California would not be the rich hub of culture and economic activity it is today without the influence of ideas, heritage, and history from around the world.

Right now, immigrants and their families are being subjected to indiscriminate immigration enforcement, including those who have been here for decades, who have paid taxes, created families, and built homes here. We have seen a rising wave of hateful and dehumanizing rhetoric across the nation, based on falsehoods and fearmongering, that is designed to divide us and turn us against each other. California will not acquiesce to this backslide into the darkest parts of this country’s history.

Hurtful bigotry damages all of us. Today, over 11 million immigrants call this state home, and almost half of all Californian children have at least one immigrant parent. Immigrants comprise one-third of the state’s workforce and account for 40.3% of entrepreneurs. Immigrant households contributed $61.8 billion in state and local taxes in 2023. In 2022, immigrants founded over half of America’s startup companies valued at $1 billion, with 48% of these companies established in Silicon Valley.

Immigrant communities are inextricably and beautifully woven into California’s past, present, and future. This month, we celebrate all that immigrants are and all that they bring to this country. We hold fast to supporting our immigrant communities, including by promoting economic well-being and immigrant talent that support shared prosperity across California. We continue to call for Congressional action to create a meaningful pathway to citizenship for those who have been here for years, paying their taxes, being good members of our communities, to meet the needs of California’s immigrant families and industry, from the Central Valley to Silicon Valley.

Immigrant Heritage Month is a time for all of us to celebrate the ways our state and nation are enriched by people from all different backgrounds and recommit to ensuring the promise of opportunity for all to thrive continues for generations to come.

NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim June 2025 as “Immigrant Heritage Month.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 8th day of June 2025.

GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor of California

ATTEST:
SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.
Secretary of State

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