Undocumented students should be allowed to work
By Kent Wong
I have been teaching labor studies and ethnic studies at the University of California-Los Angeles for more than 30 years. Among the finest students of my career have been undocumented immigrant students, sometimes called “Dreamers,” who were brought to this country as children. Against all odds, my students have studied hard, pursued their college dreams, and are entering career paths to contribute to our society.
Karely Amaya is one of them. Graduating with a master’s degree in public policy from UCLA in June 2024, she has been living in the U.S. since the age of 2 — but she is undocumented. As a consequence, she is under the continual threat of deportation; and even with her prestigious degree, she will continue to be legally ineligible to work.
I wanted to recruit Karely to work as a teaching assistant for my course on the issue of undocumented students. Although she was the best qualified for the position, UCLA would not allow me to hire her. I also wanted to hire Karely as a graduate student researcher to help edit my new book, Art and Activism of the Immigrant Youth Movement. Again, I was not allowed to do so.
Even with her prestigious degree, she will continue to be legally ineligible to work.
Denying job opportunities to undocumented students not only hurts our students and strips them of educational and economic opportunities, but it also undermines the teaching, research and public service mission of our university.
Many agree: When AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus invited Karely to speak before the National Association for Bilingual Education convention in April 2024, AFT members from throughout the country were deeply moved by her story and pledged to mobilize support for the campaign to secure job rights for undocumented students in higher education. This encouraging response from educators and union members reflects the long tradition of the AFT supporting our undocumented immigrant students.
Making change
Karely is one of the leaders of a statewide campaign called Opportunity for All, California Assembly Bill 2586, which would provide job rights for undocumented students at the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges. If successful, this would be a national breakthrough in granting undocumented students the right to work.
The UCLA Labor Center has been working with the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy to secure employment rights for undocumented students for years. While some state leaders worry over the legality of hiring undocumented people, leading UCLA law professors have determined that the “Immigration Reform and Control Act” passed by Congress in 1986 was never written to apply to the states, including state entities such as public universities and colleges. Although Congress required private employers and the federal government to enforce “employer sanctions” denying job rights for undocumented immigrants, the states are under no legal obligation to do so.
This would be a national breakthrough in granting undocumented students the right to work.
If the Opportunity for All Act passes and becomes law in California, it would establish a national precedent, opening up employment opportunities for undocumented students in higher education in other states as well. This legislative action follows a string of successful California initiatives that have set the pace in the nation for enacting humane and just immigration policies. For example:
· In 2001, California Assembly Bill 540 allowed qualified undocumented students to enroll in public higher education institutions without paying out-of-state tuition fees. The bill has allowed a new generation of undocumented students access to higher education.
· In 2011, the state Legislature passed the California Dream Act, which provided state financial aid to undocumented students. The act has been decisive in expanding the numbers of economically disadvantaged undocumented students in public higher education.
· In 2015, California allowed undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses. Two million undocumented immigrants can now legally drive as a result.
· In 2023, California became the first state to allow health care access for undocumented immigrants. In the midst of the pandemic, the state Legislature argued that if some members of our society are systematically denied access to health care, everyone is at risk. Two million undocumented immigrants throughout California now for the first time have access to health care.
Fighting at the federal level
At the federal level, there has been gridlock with regard to immigration reform. For more than 20 years, the federal DREAM Act has been blocked by anti-immigrant forces in Congress. This modest piece of legislation would grant undocumented youth a pathway to citizenship through either completing two years of college or serving in the U.S. military. Although the Dream Act is supported by a majority of people in this country, it has failed to overcome the undemocratic filibuster in Congress.
After the most recent congressional defeat of the Dream Act in 2011, President Barack Obama enacted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in 2012. DACA provides temporary relief for undocumented youth by stopping the threat of deportation and providing temporary work authorization for two years. Roughly 800,000 undocumented youth have benefited from DACA, and it is a policy that enjoys broad support throughout the country.
The children of immigrants who were brought to this country are being punished for something over which they have no control: the country of their birth.
Although DACA was supposed to be a temporary fix until the DREAM Act or comprehensive immigration reform was passed, Congress has repeatedly failed to act. Now, DACA is systematically being phased out, leaving hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth with no opportunity to work, and again facing the threat of deportation.
The children of immigrants who were brought to this country are being punished for something over which they have no control: the country of their birth. In spite of this, many are succeeding in school, entering college and obtaining degrees that would be of tremendous benefit to these young people, their families and our society at large.
The Opportunity for All Act would not guarantee employment, nor would it require additional government resources to implement. Instead, it would remove a discriminatory barrier that has prevented undocumented students from being treated equitably and fairly in applying for work on campus. I hope that this piece of legislation will encourage other colleges and universities to remove barriers for employment opportunities for their undocumented students, and will move us closer to a society that truly respects the rights and dignity of all of our students and their families, regardless of their immigration status.
Kent Wong is a vice president of the California Federation of Teachers, and the director of Labor and Community Partnerships at the UCLA Labor Center where he teaches labor studies and ethnic studies.
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