California lawmakers introduced a bill that would allow state universities and colleges to hire students who are illegal immigrants to work on campus.
Assembly Bill 2586, introduced by Assemblyman David Alvarez, came after the University of California’s (UC) regent board decided to table a similar policy for the UC system in January, citing possible legal troubles.
Since then, several immigration law groups have advocated for a bill that allows state colleges and universities to hire illegal immigrant students.
The groups argue that state universities and colleges are exempt from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which bans the hiring of illegal immigrants.
One of those groups is the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law.
“This bill will put an end to the separate-but-equal educational system that still operates in California’s university systems,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, center co-director, in a press release. “As [Assembly Bill] 2586 recognizes, the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges have the legal authority to hire any of their students, regardless of immigration status.”
Many illegal immigrant students in college or university are unable to apply for work permits under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals after the federal government stopped accepting new applications in 2017.
Without work permits, illegal immigrant students cannot get on-campus jobs, paid internships, or graduate student researcher and teaching assistant positions as other students can.
