After years of pressure to remove restrictions on the hiring of undocumented students, led by The Opportunity for All campaign, a group of students and UCLA law professors, the University of California suspended implementation of the plan for one year in a crushing vote last week.
In comments following the Regents meeting, UC President Michael Drake remarked that the plan was “inadvisable” with “substantial risks” to the University of California due to legal ramifications of federal law, notably the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 that bars employment of undocumented immigrants. President Drake’s statement contrasted with the position of activists and legal scholars who had developed an alternative legal theory that argues that the U.S. congressional ban does not apply to states or UC since it does not explicitly mention them. Voting 10-6 to retain a ban on the hiring of undocumented students, UC officials showed they are more concerned with perceived legal, political and financial risks and less with the welfare of their students. UC must keep its word and allow undocumented students to work legally on campus.
Approximately 4,000 undocumented students attending the ten UC campuses are barred from legal employment, including paid fellowships, residency jobs and research opportunities. Due to these bans, undocumented students lose the valuable opportunity to gain work and research experience that is necessary in a job market where employers expect more than just a college degree. Building resumes, gaining work experience and career networking are essential for a successful transition into the work field, especially for the majority of undocumented students who face additional barriers as first-generation and low-income students.
Instead, students without legal status are forced to look for alternative income and career options outside of campus — a frankly unsustainable way to make an income or live as a full-time student. When UC students pay tuition, it is not just for the classes. They also pay for the unique educational and research opportunities that UC campuses offer. As an institution that promises “world-class educational opportunities” and “groundbreaking research,” denying these students this opportunity is unfair and unjust.
President Drake stated that UC will continue to “support” undocumented students in “other ways, separate and distinct from the legal pathways we have been exploring.” These programs include additional financial aid for undocumented students and “reclassifying” campus jobs as “fellowships.” These proposed alternatives should not be considered a solution and don’t address the core issue: undocumented students deserve the same employment opportunities afforded to all other students. Any alternative is just a “separate, but equal” system, which is entirely unacceptable from a higher education system that boasts its vast diversity and care for all students.
In addition to legal considerations, it is clear the UC Regents bowed to political pressure as it was widely reported the Biden Administration quietly resisted the plan and that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security “pressed UC officials to reconsider what it saw as a direct challenge to federal law during an election year.”
With more than 10,000 people crossing the Southern border daily, President Biden is under extreme pressure to crack down on illegal immigration and sign a new deal with Congress that would give him authority to “shut down the border.” Thus, immigration is playing an outsized role in the leadup to the upcoming 2024 election, where it is expected that Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner, will attack President Biden’s immigration policies. A UC plan to override federal authority by allowing undocumented students to work legally on campus could hurt President Biden’s reelection plans.
Nonetheless, UC’s first duty is to its students — not politicians or political parties — and it is reprehensible that the UC Regents have prioritized politics over students’ well-being. This isn’t the first time UC has politically ducked and postponed Policy 4407. Last year, UC missed its November deadline, arguing that they needed to study the matter further. These self-imposed deadlines are meaningless. The Regents’ postponement is just a way to kick the can down the proverbial road until the problem is eventually forgotten. The Opportunity for All movement has gotten this far mainly due to the incredible dedication and advocacy from UC students and supporters holding on-campus community vigils, participating in hunger strikes and attending UC Regent Meetings.
The continual postponement of the plan is inexcusable and shows where the UC Regents’ real priorities lie. This is not a matter of “waiting it out,” and there may never be a good time for the Regents to act. UC is under a moral obligation to act and treat its undocumented students equally now.
UC, follow through on your commitment and pass Policy 4407.
The writers involved in the News articles on Policy 4407 did not contribute an opinion to this Editorial.
