Members of the coalition that’s been pushing to get the University of California to hire its undocumented students for campus jobs are now suing the university system, days after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have made such employment a reality.
The suit, filed today in the California Court of Appeals, argues that as a state agency, the UC has the legal authority to hire undocumented students. That legal theory builds on the argument legal scholars at UCLA debuted two years ago that said the long held view that no U.S. employer can hire undocumented immigrants due to a 1986 federal law doesn’t apply to state employers.
The suit says UC’s policy is “discriminatory” and is asking the court to order UC to comply with state law, which would mean granting undocumented students the ability to work. The legal team behind the suit is asking the court to make a ruling by Nov. 30 — the due date for UC admissions applications.
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The UC Board of Regents considered the advocates’ legal theory for several months before rejecting the idea to make it system policy in January. A majority of regents were persuaded by UC President Michael Drake’s arguments that hiring undocumented students could expose campus employers to civil or criminal litigation and put at risk the billions of dollars in federal contracts the system receives.
“The University of California has not been served with the filing,” wrote UC spokesperson Ryan King, in an email Tuesday evening. “When we are served, we will respond as appropriate.”
Without the ability to work, undocumented students struggle to raise the money needed to afford the full cost of their education, including housing. While undocumented students are eligible for state grants and tuition waivers, they’re barred from accessing federal grants and loans. That pushes many undocumented students to find jobs under the table or in unsafe conditions, students and advocates have said.
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Students who rallied for the idea then paired with Assemblymember David Alvarez, a Democrat from Chula Vista, to create a state law that would allow all undocumented students attending a public college or university to be employed at their campuses. The Legislature passed the bill — Assembly Bill 2586 — but Newsom struck it down, echoing the UC’s concerns. State Senate staffers for the judiciary committee said the legal arguments in favor of the bill were sound, largely swatting down UC’s worries. Newsom also wrote in his veto message that the courts should weigh in on the matter before California adopts such a policy.
“So today, two brave leaders have taken up the governor’s invitation,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. He’s a UCLA legal scholar, one of the architects of the legal theory and also a lawyer for the petitioners in the case — a former UCLA student and a UCLA lecturer.
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Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
