University of California board delays vote over hiring immigrant students without legal status

SAN FRANCISCO– The University of California’s board of trustees made a decision Thursday on whether immigrant students without legal status will be allowed to apply for jobs at its 10 campuses, with the system’s president warning that it would pose “significant risks” for the institution and the students, including possible criminal prosecution.

The Board of Regents voted 9-6 to delay consideration of the plan until 2025, amid shouts of “Cowards!” from some in the audience.

Before the vote, University of California President Michael Drake told the board that the proposed legal path for the student employment plan was “not viable at this time” and said implementing such a plan would “entail significant risks for the institution and for those we serve. ”

Drake said the policy could put immigrant students at risk of criminal charges and subsequent deportation for working while lacking legal status. That, in turn, would put the university system at risk of fines and criminal penalties for hiring them, and pose a potential threat to grants and other funding. He said the university system will continue to explore its options.

Regents who opposed delaying the plan shared their disappointment, calling it a missed opportunity for the university system to lead the fight for the rights of immigrant students who lack legal status.

“We are taking a pause at a crucial time on an issue that requires our commitment,” said California Assembly Speaker Emeritus and UC Regent John A. Pérez. “To say that now is the time to actually be brave and take individual and institutional risks is to speak of a different sense of moral authority.”

The prestigious university system has more than 295,000 students. The policy could benefit as many as 4,000 immigrant students who would previously have been allowed to work under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Former President Barack Obama’s federal policy prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. It was declared illegal by a federal judge in Texas in September. The judge’s ruling is expected to ultimately be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, putting the program’s fate before the Supreme Court for a third time.

UC’s policy would also challenge a 1986 federal law that bars people without immigration status from working legally.

For years, students without legal immigration status have attended the University of California schools while paying tuition.

Department of Homeland Security officials did not respond to a request for comment on the proposal being considered by the Board of Regents.

“I am deeply disappointed that the UC regents and President Drake have shirked their duties to the students they are supposed to protect and support,” said Jeffry Umaña Muñoz, a UCLA student and leader at Undocumented Student-Led Network, in a statement declaration.

Ahilan Arulanantham, faculty co-director at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, called it “deeply shameful” that the regents refused to adopt the policy now.

“Our legal theory, which we presented to the regents in October 2022, makes clear: The University of California today has the legal right to approve the hiring of undocumented students,” Arulanantham said. “I have had the tremendous privilege of working with these students over the years, and I have seen firsthand how challenging it is to simultaneously continue their studies and fight for their right to survive at UC. ”