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California’s Vision to Pioneer Employment Opportunities for Undocumented Residents
California has long been a trailblazer in enacting progressive legislation benefiting undocumented residents, from granting driver’s licenses to now exploring the uncharted territory of employing them within the state’s higher education system.
Breaking New Ground: University of California Regents on a Mission
Approximately five months after heeding student demands for an innovative hiring policy covering undocumented immigrants, the University of California (UC) regents are on the brink of a self-imposed deadline set for November 30. Their mission: to establish the UC system as the first public institution committed to hiring both students and staff without regard to their legal immigration status. As the deadline approaches, activists are ramping up public pressure on the regents to ensure timely action and to collaborate with immigrant students in crafting the plan.
Jeffry Umaña Muñoz, a senior at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and an undocumented student organizer, spearheaded the “Opportunity for All” campaign. The campaign argues that state agencies, such as the University of California, are not bound by federal law restrictions when it comes to employing undocumented students or graduates. They contend that this approach would enable graduates to fully realize their potential.
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Addressing Challenges in a Complex Landscape
The campaign strives to address the unique challenges faced by undocumented students on UC’s ten campuses in a world where comprehensive immigration reform remains elusive. Beyond addressing these immediate challenges, the significance of this initiative transcends California. Should the regents deliver on their commitment to create a new hiring plan, advocates and legal scholars supporting the campaign believe it could serve as a blueprint for other states to adopt similar policies. This is largely because UC’s nearly 230,000 faculty and staff exceed the total workforce in many U.S. states.
Challenging Conventional Wisdom: A Novel Legal Perspective
UC’s potential policy shift challenges the conventional understanding of federal restrictions on hiring undocumented individuals. Advocates, supported by immigration legal scholars, argue that a 1986 law, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which prohibited hiring undocumented workers, does not apply to state government entities like public university systems. Their argument hinges on the absence of explicit language in IRCA that binds states, which is a key precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Congress’s regulatory powers over state governments.
Widespread Interest and Legal Uncertainty
The momentum generated by UC’s move has sparked interest from activists across various California colleges and even from states like New York, Texas, Washington, and Florida. While the form of UC’s hiring policy remains uncertain, challenges on the horizon include how to verify the identities of potential undocumented workers, a task currently addressed by Form I-9, a requirement for employers under the 1986 law.
Legal challenges may also lie ahead, though the specific venue is unclear. George Fishman, a senior fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, has expressed skepticism about the legal foundation of this approach, stating that it pushes the envelope of existing immigration laws. Nonetheless, advocates remain confident in their legal backing, prepared to defend their policy in any court.
A Changing Landscape in the Wake of DACA Uncertainty
The significance of the “Opportunity for All” campaign was underscored when a federal district court in Texas ruled, for the second time, that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was unlawful. The future legal standing of DACA remains uncertain, and the legal battle may return to the Supreme Court. However, many undocumented students graduating from high school cannot benefit from DACA, given its original criteria.
The policy’s impact on current UC students remains to be seen. Still, the broader implications are substantial, as over 44,000 undocumented students in California’s higher education institutions are ineligible for DACA benefits. Nationally, approximately 250,000 undocumented students are enrolled in college, with an additional 120,000 high school graduates each year.
Organizing for Change and a Hope for Equitable Opportunities
While Congress has faced obstacles in passing immigration measures, various states have stepped up to reduce barriers for undocumented populations regarding higher education and employment. California, for instance, has provided in-state tuition to undocumented students since 2000. Despite this, many undocumented students in the state still grapple with college costs due to the lack of federal financial aid and employment authorization.
The story of Abraham Cruz, an undocumented UCLA senior who joined a worker cooperative to finance his education, highlights the need for employment opportunities within the university system. Such opportunities could facilitate their access to graduate school, which often has fewer financial aid options.
Facing a Looming Deadline
Despite the legal uncertainties surrounding DACA, the UC’s supporters aim to implement the new hiring program before the 2024 election cycle commences, making it harder to overturn in case of a change in the White House administration.
However, as the release date for the plan approaches, the working group has yet to share details or engage directly with student organizers, which is a source of disappointment for many. These organizers emphasize the importance of involving students who have firsthand knowledge of the challenges undocumented populations face.
In a statement, the University of California Office of the President acknowledged the difficulties faced by undocumented students ineligible for DACA and expressed its commitment to creating equitable employment opportunities. As the working group continues, it remains open to receiving feedback from students to shape the path forward.
Activists relentlessly pursue an inclusive hiring plan by the November deadline, viewing it as a crucial milestone toward their goal. As Karely Amaya Rios, a second-year public policy master’s student at UCLA and an undocumented student organizer, aptly says, “The fight isn’t over until the first undocumented student receives their first paycheck because of Opportunity for All. Until then, they have a lot of room to back out.”
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