University of California sued for blocking illegal immigrants from paid campus jobs

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (TNND) — The University of California (UC) is facing a lawsuit over its decision to refuse illegal immigrants from obtaining paid campus jobs.

The school in 2023 approved a policy that would give “all University students, regardless of immigration status” the opportunity to be employed by UC. It decided in January, however, not to adopt that “equitable access” policy, according to EdSource.

A new lawsuit filed against the school argues this decision is discriminatory and is guided by a “mistaken belief that federal law requires it.” The Immigration Reform and Control Act, which bars noncitizens from employment in the U.S., does not apply to state employers such as UC, the lawsuit argues.

“The effects of the Regents’ misguided policy have been devastating,” the lawsuit reads. “The policy is stunting the potential of students with great academic promise, who could pursue advanced degrees at the UC but for their inability to complete the necessary teaching or other employment requirements (such as medical residency).”

More broadly, the people of this State are being deprived of the important contributions that these students would have made if their academic ambitions had not been needlessly stifled by the Regents’ policy,” it adds

Petitioners also argue the decision violates a prohibition in the Fair Employment and Housing Act intended to prevent discrimination based on immigration status.

“How this petition is resolved will affect the lives of thousands of undocumented students who wish to pursue their academic dreams,” the document reads. “Many of them were brought to the United States as children to escape violence and economic insecurity in their country of birth.”

UC did not respond to a request for comment from The National News Desk sent via email Thursday.

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UC system President Michael Drake in January said allowing migrants to work on campus was “not viable” due to the legal implications, according to EdSource. The Biden administration in January pushed back against the plan and threatened to sue or take action to block it, according to Politico.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom last month vetoed a bill which would have provided illegal migrants with home-buying assistance.

The proposal would have renamed the “California Dream for All Program” to the “Home Purchase Assistance Program.” That change sought to expand the program’s eligibility to include immigrants living in the country illegally.

Those individuals could have been eligible for up to $150,000 in government-backed home loans.

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