University of California must provide equal access to campus job opportunities to all students, regardless of immigration status.
Since 1986 with the passage of the federal Immigration Reform & Control Act (IRCA), undocumented workers without work authorization have been barred from being able to legally work in the United States. Since then, the federal government has continued to restrict the ability of employers to hire undocumented workers.
In higher education, this means that undocumented students are blocked from countless opportunities that their peers with permanent residency, citizenship, or at least work authorization are able to access freely.
But it does not have to be this way.
Working with immigration law experts at the UCLA School of Law’s Center for Immigration Law & Policy (CILP), undocumented student organizers have identified that states and certain state entities are not bound by IRCA’s hiring restrictions and can legally employ undocumented workers. As their analysis shows, because the University of California is an arm of the state, it faces no legal restriction on hiring undocumented workers. This reading of the 1986 law has now been endorsed by [twelve] of the most knowledgeable immigration law professors in the country.
What you can do:
- Sign the Campaign Sign-On Letter
- Use this Toolkit to share across your community
- Email President Drake to voice your support
Media
The University of California has the chance to take a critical step to make clear that all UC students can access the educational opportunities the university has to offer, including employment opportunities within educational programs and elsewhere at the university.
Undocumented Student-Led Network 