After Gov. After Gavin Newsom opposed a bill that would have allowed undocumented students to be hired at public universities, a legal effort has been launched to force open the door.
On Tuesday, a UCLA student and a professor filed a lawsuit accusing the University of California system of discriminating against students based on their immigration status. They are seeking a court order requiring the program to consider undocumented students for college jobs.
“As an undocumented student at the University of California, I experienced firsthand the pain and hardship of being denied the right to be employed on campus,” petitioner and UCLA student Jeffry Umaña Muñoz said Tuesday. “Losing these opportunities has forced me to live in very precarious and dangerous situations, often from homes and lack of food.”
The lawsuit argues that the federal law prohibiting the employment of undocumented immigrants does not apply to public universities. A UC spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon that the university system had yet to be provided with the filings but would respond appropriately when provided.
The case was coordinated by the Opportunity4All campaign, which led the charge behind Assembly Bill 2486, or the Opportunity for All Act, this year.
When he vetoed the bill in September, Newsom expressed concern that state workers could be found violating federal laws on hiring undocumented immigrants.
“Given the seriousness of the potential consequences of this bill, including criminal liability and public liability for government employees, it is important that the courts address the legality of that policy and the novel law based on this law before proceeding,” he said. in his veto message.
UC administrators, meanwhile, share Newsom’s fear that offering jobs to undocumented students could run afoul of federal law.
In January, they closed the program to open jobs to students without legal work authorization, saying UC could be subject to civil penalties, criminal penalties and the potential loss of billions of dollars in state funding. The university system receives more than $12 billion in annual grant funding for research, student financial aid and health care.
The lawsuit, however, says that while the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 prohibits the employment of people without legal status, this federal law does not apply to public employers such as the University of California.
“No court has ever interpreted IRCA correctly [UC] what should I do,” said Jessica Bansal, counsel for the petitioner, at a press conference announcing the case on Tuesday. “To the contrary, the US Supreme Court has consistently held that federal employment laws do not apply to state employers unless they clearly and unambiguously state that they do.”
Bansal said UC’s hiring policy also violates California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, which prohibits state employers from discriminating in hiring based on immigration status.
Although the lawsuit is directed at the UC system, attorney Ahilan Arulanantham said he hopes the favorable decision will encourage California State University to also open jobs to such immigrant students.
California is home to one-fifth of immigrant college students who are in the US illegally, an estimated 55,500 of whom attend public colleges and universities.
“It’s important that these students have the opportunity to work and pursue advancement,” petitioner and UCLA professor Iliana Perez said Tuesday. “By unlocking their potential and allowing them to fully participate, we can address a missed economic opportunity and build an inclusive and prosperous society.”
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