After Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed the hiring of undocumented students at public universities, a legal effort was launched to force open this door.
On Tuesday, a UCLA alumnus 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 forcing the system to consider undocumented students for on-campus jobs.
“As an undocumented college student at the University of California, I experienced firsthand the pain and hardship of being denied the right to employment on campus,” petitioner and UCLA alumnus Jeffry Umaña Muñoz said Tuesday. “Losing these opportunities forced me to live in extremely precarious and dangerous living situations, always at times of food and housing insecurity.”
The lawsuit argues that the federal law prohibiting the hiring of undocumented people does not apply to public universities. A UC spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon that the university system had not yet received the submission but will respond accordingly when notified.
The lawsuit is being coordinated by the Opportunity4All campaign, which led the charge behind Assembly Bill 2486, or the Opportunity for All Act, this year.
In vetoing the bill in September, Newsom cited concerns that state employees could be found violating federal laws by hiring undocumented people.
“Given the seriousness of the potential consequences of this bill, including potential criminal and civil liability for state employees, it is critical that courts address the legality of such a policy and the novel legal theory behind this legislation before proceeding.” “, said. in his veto message.
UC regents, for their part, share Newsom's fear that offering jobs to undocumented students could go against federal law.
In January, they shelved a plan to open jobs to students who lacked legal work authorization, saying UC could be subject to civil fines, criminal penalties and the potential loss of billions of dollars in federal funds. The university system receives more than $12 billion in annual federal funds for research, student financial aid and health care.
The lawsuit, however, maintains that although the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 prohibits the hiring of people without legal status, this federal law does not apply to government employers such as the University of California.
“No court has ever interpreted IRCA in the way it [UC] The regents do it,” Jessica Bansal, an attorney for the petitioner, said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit Tuesday. “To the contrary, the United States Supreme Court has consistently held that federal laws regulating contracting do not apply to state employers unless they clearly and unequivocally state so.”
Bansal said UC's hiring policy also violates the California 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 hoped a favorable ruling would prompt California State University to open jobs to those immigrant students as well.
California is home to one-fifth of the country's immigrant college students who are in the United States illegally, of whom an estimated 55,500 attend public colleges and universities.
“It is imperative that these students have the opportunity to work and advance in their careers,” petitioner and UCLA professor Iliana Pérez said Tuesday. “By unlocking their potential and allowing them to contribute fully, we can rectify lost economic opportunity and create a more inclusive and prosperous society.”
