State lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 713 on Friday, sending the governor a bill that would bar the University of California, California State University and the state’s community colleges from refusing to hire students simply because they lack legal status. The measure, authored by Assemblymember José Luis Solache, a Lakewood Democrat, drew broad Democratic support and even a vote in favor from one Republican lawmaker. If signed, it would take effect Jan. 6.

This is not the first time such a proposal has reached Newsom’s desk. He vetoed nearly identical legislation in 2024, citing worries that granting campus jobs to students without legal status could invite retaliation from the Trump administration, including possible cuts to the roughly $17 billion in federal funding the UC system receives each year.

Those same concerns are surfacing again. California’s Department of Finance has recommended against the bill, pointing to the risk of federal litigation and funding losses. The UC itself walked away from a similar internal proposal in 2024 for the same reasons, a decision that prompted tears and outrage from students at a Board of Regents meeting.

Some Republican lawmakers echoed those fears during debate on the current bill. Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno, argued in a January hearing that jeopardizing federal funding for the entire student body over this issue would be irresponsible, and he voted against the measure Friday.

The push for campus employment rights matters most for the tens of thousands of students without legal status enrolled across California’s public higher education systems — an estimated 60,000 as of 2023, the majority attending community colleges. These students cannot access federal Pell Grants, worth up to $7,400 a year, or federal student loans, which typically offer better protections than private financing. While California allows eligible students to attend public colleges tuition-free regardless of immigration status, many still struggle to cover living expenses without the ability to hold a legal job.

“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 colleagues during a June hearing.

The legislation rests on a legal theory first advanced in 2022 by a group of UCLA scholars, who argued that the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 — the law generally barring employers from hiring workers without legal status — was never intended to apply to state government employers. Because the law does not explicitly list states among covered employers, unlike other statutes that clearly do, the scholars contend Congress never meant to restrict state hiring decisions in this way. A state Senate Judiciary Committee analysis added that Congress may lack the authority to dictate state employment practices altogether under principles of federalism.

That theory led the UC Board of Regents to explore hiring students without legal status, but the effort collapsed under fear of federal backlash. Students later sued the university system, and a state appellate court ruled that UC’s blanket refusal to hire such students amounted to an abuse of discretion under California’s anti-discrimination laws. The court did not order UC to start hiring these students, but it said the university could not continue its policy without demonstrating that federal law actually requires it. The state Supreme Court declined to disturb that ruling. UC was also ordered to pay more than $500,000 in legal fees to the plaintiffs, who included a student and a former lecturer.

Because of the UC’s unique constitutional autonomy, dating back to 1879, it remains uncertain whether Solache’s bill could even compel the system to comply if signed into law. A UC spokesperson, Omar Rodriguez, said the university “is evaluating its options in light of the court’s ruling and will take appropriate action when that evaluation has concluded,” adding that UC has taken no formal position on the bill.

In the meantime, some students without legal status have found workarounds, forming limited liability companies or cooperatives that let them work as independent contractors rather than traditional employees — a strategy detailed in a 2022 law review article by University of Oklahoma professor Kit Johnson. But not every student has the resources or knowledge to set up such an arrangement, leaving many without a legal path to campus employment.

Supporters of the bill also pushed back on concerns that working legally on campus could expose students to greater immigration enforcement risk. They note that state and federal privacy laws limit what personal student information universities can share without consent. Still, that assurance has been tested recently: UC and Cal State campuses have shared student and staff records with federal investigators as part of the Trump administration’s inquiries into alleged antisemitism on campus, prompting lawsuits and, in the case of Cal State, a settlement requiring the university to notify employees before releasing their information to federal authorities.

Advocates argue that the possibility of immigration enforcement shouldn’t be used as a reason to deny students legal work opportunities, noting that the risks they face already exist whether or not they’re employed on campus.

Now the decision returns to Newsom, who must again decide whether to embrace an untested legal argument that could open a new front with Washington, or to once more side with caution and veto a measure that has strong support among legislative Democrats and immigrant advocacy groups.

Original source: CalMatters

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