San Francisco’s government is using taxpayer money to fund a cash giveaway to black and Latino people who claim to be transgender.
The city’s taxpayer-funded “Guaranteed Income for Trans People” (GIFT) program even allows illegal aliens to apply, as well as people who “engage in survival sex trades,” as uncovered by Judicial Watch.
Moreover, the use of the funds by participants of the program, which was launched last year, is virtually unrestricted.
The records were obtained through a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request sent to the San Francisco Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector (TTX).
When announcing the launch of the GIFT program on November 16, 2022, San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office said in a press release that the city will “provide low-income transgender San Franciscans with $1,200 each month, up to 18 months to help address financial insecurity within trans communities.”
Taxpayer money has been distributed through the program since January 2023, Judicial Watch noted.
“These disturbing new documents confirm how, among other leftist extremist policies, San Francisco is abusing tax dollars to give cash to individuals based on race and transgender quotas,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
The foundation also revealed an undated document from the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, which stated, “Selected participants in this program will identify as transgender and extremely low-income (<30% of Area Media Income, approximately less than $28,000 per year for a household of one person).”
“Within this population, there will be a specific focus on Black and Latinx transgender women,” the document added. “A monthly $1,200 stipend will be provided to participants so they may focus on their basic physical and mental health and wellness without worrying about income. Pre-paid cards are being utilized because some participants may not have bank accounts.”
“[The Mayor’s Office] will purchase Pre-paid cards with funding supported by the General Fund and dedicated specifically for the Transgender Basic Income pilot program,” the document continued.
Another document from March 2022 detailed the criteria for guaranteed income eligibility and even set race and sexual identity quotas:
The collaborative leading this program will focus on a target population of low-income transgender, non-binary, gender nonconforming and intersex (TGI) individuals residing in San Francisco County. The program will prioritize enrollment and retention of BIPOC [Black, Indigenous People of Color] trans and nonbinary people who also engage in survival sex trades, living with disabilities, elders, living with HIV/AIDS, undocumented, monolingual Spanish speakers, formerly incarcerated, and unhoused and marginally housed.
We will work collaboratively to create equity guidelines for enrollment, centered on the reality of how racism disproportionately disadvantages BIPOC, black trans women, and undocumented monolingual Spanish speakers. The program enrollment will ensure the 55 participants is 66% BIPOC, at least 30% Black Trans Women, and at least 20% Latinx Trans Women.
Judicial Watch also uncovered a November 2022 email chain among employees of the San Francisco government and TTX in which they discussed their concerns about the use of legal names — “dead” names versus chosen names.
“I’d like to see if we can provide more nuance and explanation around the legal name question as this will be very important for the transgender pilot,” one email read. “My understanding is that the city will allow a provider to enroll participants using their chosen name vs legal name and it may be very challenging for someone to put their dead name on the card.”
Another email from February 2022 shows Kimmie Wu in the TTX telling her supervisor, Tajel Shah, how the office hired a firm to push “diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging” training and hiring.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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