UC Does not act on proposal to allow campuses to employ undocumented students
Cal Matters reports that the University of California suspended for a year any plan to allow undocumented students to acquire campus jobs, such as teaching assistantships that help fund graduate educations.
“The decision all but halts an effort by UCLA law professors and student advocates to create a pathway for the estimated 4,000 undocumented UC students to earn a paycheck legally. While many students without legal immigrant protections receive state financial aid and have their tuition waived, those students are often on their own financially to cover rent, food and other necessary expenses to continue their studies. These students also are blocked from receiving federal grants, further intensifying their fiscal strain.”
“We have concluded that the proposed legal pathway is not viable at this time,” said Michael Drake, president of the UC, at today’s regents meeting. He said the proposal is “inadvisable” and “carries significant risk for the institution and for those we serve.”
Earlier this week, the Undocumented Student-Led Network announced its plan to go on hunger strike. “The 21 participants hope that the strike will encourage the university to accept a proposal allowing for the hiring of undocumented students. Currently, undocumented students cannot hold any campus job, including research and teaching assistant positions.”
“The university has the power to treat our students equally, and they have a perfectly sound way to adopt legal theory that would allow them to do it,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, faculty co-director for the Center of Immigration Law & Policy. Arulanantham is one of the legal experts behind the Opportunity For All Campaign, which aims to obtain equal educational opportunities for undocumented students.
Alongside faculty co-director Hiroshi Motomura, Arulanantham in a letter dated September 7, 2022 provided legal analysis for the proposal given to the university urging them to allow the hiring of undocumented students. It says that under U.S. Supreme Court precedents, federal law does not bind state government entities if it does not mention the state explicitly – arguing that, given their reading of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, it is legally sound to hire undocumented students.
In November 2023, the regents announced that they would continue to deliberate on the issue.
KJ