Free. Solar. Panels. For. Illegal. Aliens. Every single word in that sentence makes it worse, and yet here we are. California is now handing out free solar panel installations to people who aren't even supposed to be in the country, all funded by you, the American taxpayer who can barely afford your own electric bill.
But don't worry — it's for the planet. Feel better?
Here's how the scam works. The program is called the Farmworker Housing Component of the Low-Income Weatherization Program, because of course it has a name that long. According to an investigation by Christopher Rufo and Austen Hufford at City Journal, California has earmarked $49 million since 2019 for this program. The money comes from the state's cap-and-trade system, which generates a staggering $3 billion per year. And the benefits don't stop at solar panels — recipients also get free refrigerators, new windows, and water heater replacements.
Now here's the part that should make your blood boil. The program doesn't require U.S. citizenship. It doesn't require a green card. It doesn't even require a state ID. Natalie Velores, program manager for an outfit called MAROMA, said the quiet part out loud: "We only require an ID. It doesn't need to be from this state, or the United States." A matricula consular — that's an ID card issued by the Mexican consulate — is good enough.
California has roughly 900,000 agricultural workers. By most estimates, 50 to 75 percent of them are undocumented immigrants. So when Rufo reports that "California is spending millions of dollars sending contractors into the farm fields, trying to persuade undocumented migrants to sign up for free solar panels," he's not exaggerating. They're actively recruiting people who broke the law to get here.
Governor Gavin Newsom's California strikes again. This is the same state that can't keep the lights on during a heat wave, can't house its own veterans, can't stop people from shoplifting in broad daylight — but somehow found $49 million to put solar panels on the roofs of people here illegally. Rufo called it what it is: "California is full of criminal fraud... A scandal."
Hard to argue with that assessment.
So the next time you open your energy bill and wince, just remember — somewhere in the Central Valley, a guy who hopped the border is getting his brand-new solar panels installed on your dime. And Governor Newsom wants you to thank him for saving the environment while he does it.
Your tax dollars at work, America. Your tax dollars at work.