University Of California Illegal Immigrant Hiring Ban Is “Discriminatory”, Court Rules

Authored by Sam Korkus via The College Fix,

The University of California system is discriminating against illegal immigrant students by refusing to hire them for on-campus jobs, a state court ruled.

However, immigration experts criticized the decision, with one calling it a “mockery of the law.”

The ruling last month found the university system violated a state law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of immigration status. However, it did not require the universities to hire illegal immigrant students.

“We conclude that the University’s employment policy facially discriminates based on immigration status and that, in light of applicable state law, the discriminatory policy cannot be justified by the University’s proffered reason,” the three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeals ruled.

“Our writ does not require the University to take any specific action, let alone one that will necessarily place the University community at risk,” the opinion stated.

“The option the University identifies—a declaratory judgment suit against the federal government—is one that remains available to it in response to this writ,” the judges wrote.

“We merely require that the University not rely on litigation risk alone as the justification for its facially discriminatory policy.”

The university argued it could not hire illegal immigrant students because it might invite legal action from the federal government. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 prohibits employers from hiring illegal immigrants.

University of California Los Angeles’ Center for Immigration Law and Policy brought the lawsuit. The center previously has advocated for the University of California system to remove its prohibition on the hiring of illegal immigrants. Legal scholars Hiroshi Motomura and Ahilan Arulanantham argue the 1986 federal law does not specifically designate government entities as “employers.”

Neither responded to an emailed request for comment on the ruling in the past week. In 2024, the UC system disbanded a task force created to study the legality of hiring illegal immigrants, as reported by The Daily Bruin. In 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom also vetoed legislation to allow for the hiring of illegal immigrants, citing potential legal problems.

The UC system also did not respond to a request for comment on Aug. 18.

A former attorney for the Department of Homeland Security said the University of California system would likely win a federal case if it argued the 1986 law applies to it. This is a proposal the university system brought up during litigation. 

The court also did not say the university must hire illegal immigrant workers.

“The court merely ruled that 1) UC’s policy of refusing to hire unauthorized aliens is discriminatory under California law,” George Fishman, now a senior legal fellow with the Center for Immigration Studies, told The College Fix via email. 

The court also ruled the university system “needs to reconsider its policy based on proper criteria” and the policy “cannot be justified by the University’s proffered reason.”

“I am confident that, in the end, federal courts will rule that IRCA does indeed apply to States as employers, just as Congress intended in 1986,” Fishman said.

A senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation criticized the ruling as well.

“Federal law, which trumps any state law to the contrary, prohibits any employer from hiring illegal aliens,” Zack Smith told The Fix via email.

He previously served as the Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Florida, according to his bio.

“This is another absurd ruling by activist judges that makes a mockery of the law. Hopefully this decision will be overturned in short order,” Smith said.

“In the meantime, California universities would be prudent to continue following all applicable federal laws.”