ROOKE: Breast Implants And ‘Bottom Surgeries’ — Taxpayers On Hook For Funding Sex Changes For Homeless, Illegal Aliens

Photo by HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images

California faces a structural budget deficit, but that doesn’t stop the state from using taxpayer money to fund radical left transgender procedures for illegal immigrants, according to a report.

It’s officially tax day in America, which makes most people want to stick their heads in the sand. A recent investigation by Chris Ruffo’s team at City Journal might give Californians even more reason. The City Journal received a tip from a whistleblower claiming that illegal immigrants in California were receiving taxpayer-funded transgender procedures.

The group claims to have visited publicly funded shelters in San Francisco, California, to interview employees and residents about their transgender policies.

SCOOP: California is giving free sex-change procedures to homeless illegal aliens. Our team went into the shelters and discovered that trans migrants are coming into the state for hormones, breast implants, and “bottom surgeries”—all on the taxpayer dime. https://t.co/mDs7ivwjG5 — Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) April 15, 2026

SCOOP: California is giving free sex-change procedures to homeless illegal aliens. Our team went into the shelters and discovered that trans migrants are coming into the state for hormones, breast implants, and “bottom surgeries”—all on the taxpayer dime. https://t.co/mDs7ivwjG5

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) April 15, 2026

“We discovered not only that the shelters were housing illegal immigrants but also that they were apparently housing a population of male-to-female ‘transgender’ illegal aliens, who had hoped to obtain ‘gender-affirming care.’ And, to our shock, state and local governments apparently are providing it,” City Journal reported.

St. Vincent De Paul’s MSC-South facility in San Francisco reportedly admitted to housing illegal immigrants from El Salvador, Venezuela, and other countries. The outlet says it spoke to two Honduran men, “Lyca” and “Alondra,” who were staying at the facility and identified as transgender women. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)

“He (Lyca) confirmed that he was an illegal immigrant and that the shelter doesn’t ask questions about immigration status. ‘Tengo Medi-Cal,’ he said, referring to the state health-care program, which, under Governor Gavin Newsom, began providing ‘full scope’ coverage to illegal aliens, which includes transgender procedures, or ‘gender affirming care.’ He said he was receiving cross-sex hormone therapy—and bore the physical signs of having done so,” the report stated.

EXCLUSIVE: Homeless transgender illegals in California are crossing the border to receive taxpayer-funded sex changes. It’s one of the worst kept secrets on the streets. Meanwhile, the state is facing a multibillion dollar budget shortfall. I wonder why? https://t.co/J29AIPyHW2 pic.twitter.com/AZiOcsphsS — Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) April 15, 2026

EXCLUSIVE: Homeless transgender illegals in California are crossing the border to receive taxpayer-funded sex changes. It’s one of the worst kept secrets on the streets. Meanwhile, the state is facing a multibillion dollar budget shortfall. I wonder why? https://t.co/J29AIPyHW2 pic.twitter.com/AZiOcsphsS

— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) April 15, 2026

The second site visited was a city-funded shelter, the Embarcadero SAFE Navigation Center. There, the reporters spoke with “Jacqueline,” another man self-identifying as a trans woman from Mexico who claimed to be a lawful U.S. resident but reportedly told City Journal that illegal immigrants were also living in the facility.

Jacqueline, who was seen wearing a low-cut red shirt with large fake breasts, confirmed to the outlet that the state’s healthcare program, Medi-Cal, funded his new breasts. Medi-Cal is also paying for his hormone treatments, according to the report.

He claimed that such procedures are available to illegal immigrants, too.

“Even though you’re undocumented, you can get them,” Jacqueline told the outlet.

He described the process as requiring therapy and hormones first, noting in Spanish, “Es un proceso.” When asked about bottom surgery (a genital procedure that can involve castration and construction of a neo-vagina), he replied that he was waiting for it. San Francisco has multiple clinics offering these surgeries, and Medi-Cal covers them.

EXCLUSIVE: “Jacqueline” is a transgender migrant who lives in a California homeless shelter and told us the state gave him free breast implants. Now he’s waiting for “bottom surgery,” in which doctor will castrate him and create an artificial vagina—all funded by Gavin Newsom. pic.twitter.com/ADeJbMqLZn — Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) April 15, 2026

EXCLUSIVE: “Jacqueline” is a transgender migrant who lives in a California homeless shelter and told us the state gave him free breast implants.

Now he’s waiting for “bottom surgery,” in which doctor will castrate him and create an artificial vagina—all funded by Gavin Newsom. pic.twitter.com/ADeJbMqLZn

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) April 15, 2026

The third location the City Journal reportedly investigated was the Taimon Booton Navigation Center, a government-funded facility designated for “transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex individuals.” Outside the facility, the reporters encountered a group of male-to-female transgender illegal immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, and elsewhere. These men reportedly told the outlet they were searching for transgender procedures.

“Apparently, word has traveled down the continent to the transgender communities in Mexico, Honduras, and elsewhere: if you make it all the way to California, the government will pay for your shelter, hormones, and surgeries—no questions asked,” the report stated.

It’s not hard to see why the City Journal would come to that conclusion. The policies creating this outcome stem from California’s sanctuary framework and expansive healthcare mandates. State law requires Medi-Cal to cover so-called “gender-affirming care” without discrimination, and sanctuary practices prevent shelters from inquiring about status or cooperating with federal enforcement. The result is a de facto incentive. If illegal immigrants can reach California, they can enter shelters without documentation checks, enroll in Medi-Cal, and obtain taxpayer-funded procedures.

Calling this a waste of taxpayer money doesn’t seem to go far enough to describe the situation in California. Each course of hormone therapy, each set of breast implants, and each bottom surgery draws from the same pool of funding for schools, roads, and emergency services. In a state projecting ongoing multi-billion-dollar deficits, prioritizing irreversible medical procedures for non-citizens who entered the U.S. illegally diverts finite resources from core governmental functions. And this doesn’t even begin to touch on how demented it is that taxpayers are forced to fund this barbarism in the first place.

The taxpayer burden and coddling of illegal immigrants aside, the underlying problem is that so-called “gender-affirming care” rests on remarkably weak evidence and carries significant long-term risks.

The United Kingdom’s Cass Review and a 2025 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report on pediatric gender dysphoria found no reliable demonstration of long-term mental health benefits for providing transgender procedures. The HHS report documented risks including infertility, sexual dysfunction, reduced bone density, cognitive effects, cardiometabolic disease, and psychiatric complications, emphasizing that the purported benefits are often exaggerated or misrepresented.

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidelines, which California and Medi-Cal reference to determine medical necessity, were criticized in the Cass Review for failing to meet basic standards of evidence-based medicine. (RELATED: Republicans’ Attempt To Coddle Immigrants Way Worse Than You Can Imagine)

It’s easy to say that California’s priorities are simply misplaced. However, it has been clear as far back as I can remember that California’s elected officials stopped caring about its residents a long time ago.

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