California governor vetoes bill to let illegal immigrants work on campus– www.thecollegefix.com

Newsom says legislation could land state in legal trouble

Campus jobs will remain closed to illegal immigrant students in California after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Sunday that would have reversed the situation.

In his veto message, the Democrat governor expressed concerns that the legislation would violate federal law and land the state in trouble with the Trump administration, the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s student newspaper, reports.

“California remains committed to economic opportunity and tuition affordability for all students, including leading efforts to support undocumented students,” Newsom stated.

“But 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,” he stated.

The legislation prohibits public colleges and universities in California from “disqualifying a student from being hired for an employment position due to the student’s failure to provide proof of federal work authorization,” according to the bill summary.

Additionally, it would require institutions to “treat a specified prohibition in federal law on hiring undocumented noncitizens as inapplicable because that provision does not apply to any branch of state government.”

This language is based on a legal theory by scholars at the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy. Hiroshi Motomura and Ahilan Arulanantham argue the 1986 federal law does not specifically designate government entities as “employers,” The College Fix previously reported.