For the second time in three years, Governor Gavin Newsom has blocked legislation that would have allowed college students without legal immigration status to hold jobs on California’s public campuses, dealing another setback to advocates who have spent four years pushing for the change.
Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 713 on Sunday, rejecting a measure that relied on a largely untested legal argument: that a 1986 federal law prohibiting employers from hiring workers without authorization to work in the country doesn’t actually apply to state governments. Supporters of the bill pointed out that the four-decade-old statute never explicitly names state governments among the employers barred from such hiring.
Despite that argument, Newsom concluded that California’s public colleges and universities would be putting themselves in the crosshairs of federal retaliation if the state moved forward on its own.
“The current federal government has shown it is quick to wreak destruction for political spectacle — attacking California’s public higher education institutions and terrorizing immigrant communities, including students, with reckless disregard for consequences and a desire for chaos,” Newsom wrote in his veto message.
He added that the stakes were too high to act without more legal certainty. “Given the gravity of this bill’s consequences — including potential criminal and civil liability for state employees — the federal courts must resolve the legality of the novel legal theory behind this legislation before we proceed,” Newsom wrote, suggesting that seeking a declaratory ruling in federal court would be a better path forward.
This marks the second time Newsom has vetoed nearly identical legislation, having rejected a similar bill in 2024.
The latest proposal came from Assemblymember José Luis Solache, a Democrat representing Lakewood, who hoped to open the door for an estimated 60,000 students without legal status enrolled in California’s community colleges and public universities to work legally on campus. Rather than seeking under-the-table cash jobs, these students could instead hold positions suited to their coursework or research interests — including lab jobs tied to their academic programs, according to bill supporters.
Campus employment matters greatly for these students because they don’t qualify for federal Pell grants, which can provide up to $7,400 a year, or for federal student loans that typically offer better borrower protections than private lending options. California does allow eligible in-state students to attend public colleges tuition-free through waivers regardless of immigration status, but living expenses and other costs remain a major hurdle without steady income.
“While California has a longstanding commitment to expanding access, affordability, and student success in higher education, our undocumented students continue to face significant financial and structural barriers,” Solache told lawmakers during a bill hearing in June.
The University of California system had once considered adopting this same legal theory on its own but abandoned the effort in 2024, citing concerns that the federal government could retaliate by cutting off funding or pursuing legal action against UC employees.
That decision effectively dismantled a coalition of student activists who had spent years pressing the UC to act unilaterally and hire students regardless of immigration status.
Following Newsom’s 2024 veto, a student and a former UC lecturer filed suit against the university system. A state appellate court later ruled that the UC’s justification — fear of a potential federal lawsuit — amounted to an abuse of discretion under California’s anti-discrimination laws covering employment and housing. The court found that the UC’s blanket refusal to hire students without legal status couldn’t be legally justified unless the university could demonstrate that federal law actually compels that policy. The UC appealed the ruling, but the California Supreme Court declined to intervene, letting the appellate court’s decision stand. Notably, the ruling did not address whether the underlying legal theory — that states can lawfully employ workers without legal immigration status — actually holds up.
In his latest veto message, Newsom made clear he believes that question needs to be settled by federal courts before California moves forward with any law along the lines of what Solache proposed.
Original source: CalMatters
