A new bill progressing through the California Legislature seeks to allow undocumented students at public colleges and universities to work on-campus jobs, even without a work permit.
Currently, undocumented students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status can obtain temporary work permits, but the Department of Homeland Security stopped processing new DACA applications in 2017 after the Trump administration rescinded the program. As a result, only renewal requests are approved, leaving many students without the ability to work on campus, as federal law prohibits hiring undocumented individuals.
The proposed legislation, introduced by Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego, would change this by prohibiting UC, Cal State schools, and community colleges from disqualifying students from employment due to lack of federal work authorization, unless explicitly required by federal law, such as for federal work-study jobs.
The legislation argues that public colleges and universities in California should be exempt from the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, which bars employers from knowingly hiring undocumented workers. Some scholars, lawmakers, and organizations, including Alvarez and the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy, assert that the prohibition on hiring undocumented individuals does not apply to state government entities, including public colleges and universities.
“When Congress passed IRCA, Congress did not curtail states’ historic power to determine the employment qualifications of state employees,” faculty co-directors of the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy wrote in a 2022 memo signed by faculty from several law schools across the country.
If successful, the legislation would require each of the 10 UC schools, 23 Cal State universities, and 116 community colleges to implement the law by January 6, 2025. Assemblymember Alvarez notes that approximately 45,000 undocumented students in California are currently unable to apply for student employment opportunities due to their status.
“America has always promised that if you work hard, you will have the opportunity to succeed,” said Alvarez. “These students have fulfilled their obligation and are ready to be our future teachers, scientists, doctors, and public servants. This bill will provide them with the opportunity to work.”
The bill, called the “Opportunity For All Act,” is co-authored by Assemblymembers Avelino Valencia, D-Anaheim; Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton; and Blanca Pacheco, D-Downey. It follows the UC Board of Regents’ decision in January to delay hiring undocumented students for on-campus jobs. UC President Michael Drake cited legal consultations concluding that allowing undocumented students to work on-campus jobs was not “viable at this time.”
The UC system’s concerns include the potential exposure of undocumented students and their families to criminal prosecution or deportation, as well as the risk of civil fines and criminal penalties if the institution is found in violation of IRCA. The Assembly’s analysis of the bill also noted these concerns.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee predicted that UC and CSU may incur one-time costs in the mid-hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement the law, cover potential litigation costs, and sustain significant losses of federal funding. Community colleges could face costs up to $2.4 million statewide.
The bill has recently cleared a key deadline by passing the house where it was introduced and is now awaiting action in the Senate.