Unclear - Part 2

A few days ago, we posted about AB 2586, a bill now passed by the legislature and awaiting a decision by the governor to sign or veto.* The bill ostensibly would require UC and CSU to make undocumented students eligible for employment on the legal theory that the prohibition of such employment doesn't apply to state government entities.

The Regents, after several closed-door meetings at which such hiring was discussed, eventually dropped the idea on the grounds that such hiring would be illegal for UC and would endanger federal funding. AB 2586, as yours truly noted, has some fuzzy and unclear wording that makes it unclear whether it really requires the Regents to reverse their position.
 

Anyway, the LA Times has this update: ...Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to decide whether to sign or veto the bill; his office declined to comment. Hundreds of supporters are planning to rally at the state Capitol on Thursday to press him to support the bill, as California is home to 1 in 5 of the nation’s undocumented college students.

The ramifications are considerable, taking in humanitarian needs, legal risks and explosive politics. Amid a tight presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump, immigration is a major issue and some fear that a California law clearing the way for UC, CSU and community colleges to hire undocumented students would be political “red meat” to Republicans. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, introduced a bill in March cutting off federal funding to universities that hire undocumented people — and he specifically called out UC for scrutiny...

Those politics have given some UC regents pause. “Do we really want to rattle the hornet’s nest?” if Trump wins, asked Regent José Hernández. Although he wants UC to find a way to hire the undocumented students, he said, “you have to look at the political landscape.” ...

“Unfortunately, AB 2586 does not protect our undocumented students or employees from prosecution, nor does it protect the University from the risks of potentially losing billions in federal dollars,” UC Legislative Director Mario Guerrero wrote in a July letter to Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Salinas), who heads the Senate Appropriations Committee. UC receives more than $12 billion in annual federal funding for research, student financial aid and healthcare. The system is the largest recipient of federally sponsored research — $3.8 billion last year — among U.S. higher education institutions...

[Bill author David] Alvarez said UC would not be forced to comply with the law because the system has constitutional autonomy from the state. But he said he expects compliance so all of the state’s public higher education systems are on the same page...

[Bill author David] Alvarez said UC would not be forced to comply with the law because the system has constitutional autonomy from the state. But he said he expects compliance so all of the state’s public higher education systems are on the same page...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-09-04/uc-csu-wary-about-bill-allowing-them-to-hire-undocumented-students.