Immigrant rights groups condemn Newsom's veto stopping undocumented students from working on college campuses

For the second time during his administration, Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have allowed undocumented students to work on their college campuses.

Assembly Bill 713 would have tested a legal theory challenging a 1986 federal law that prohibits employers from hiring workers who don’t have federal work authorization – supporters of the bill say this does not apply to state governments, and therefore, state schools. This is the second time in the last three years that Newsom has vetoed such a bill, both times citing potential challenges from the federal government as the deciding factor.

“Immigrant communities should not only matter when standing with us is politically advantageous,” Immigrant Justice in Action (IJAC), a coalition of undocumented students in California, told CALÓ News in a written statement. “Governor Newsom had a clear opportunity to prove that his rhetoric about immigrant inclusion extends beyond statements and into policy. Instead, he vetoed AB 713 for a second time and turned his back on undocumented students.”

A student-led campaign

The battle over this bill began in October 2022, when students and professors at UCLA launched Opportunity for All, a campaign grounded in a new legal theory challenging the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which bars employers from hiring unauthorized workers, but does not list state agencies as part of the law.

The campaign was originally intended to be implemented at University of California (UC) campuses, and eventually statewide.

A statewide coalition of undocumented students quickly formed and has been campaigning for  Opportunity for All since.

In 2024, Assemblymember David Alvarez, a Democrat from Chula Vista, introduced Opportunity for All to the Legislature in the form of AB 2586. The bill passed both houses before being vetoed by Newsom, who said at the time he worried about “potential consequences” from the federal government.

This session, Assemblymember José Luis Solache, a Democrat from Lynwood, introduced AB 713, virtually the same bill as Alvarez’s. 

Both bills would have allowed all students, regardless of their immigration status, the opportunity to work at UC, California State University (CSU) and community college campuses. 

Solache said in a statement he is “extremely disappointed” in Newsom’s veto.

“The Legislature has sent this bill to the Governor’s desk twice and this latest was all the more urgent given the federal immigration nightmare our communities and students are facing,” Solache said. “There is no safer place for our undocumented students to work than on campus. Every failure to lead and every delay puts more students at risk.”

Around 60,000 undocumented students are enrolled at California’s public colleges, according to reporting from CalMatters. Those students are only eligible for state financial aid, not federal grants or loans. They also cannot legally work and face various hurdles to afford school and other expenses.

“This veto doesn't change who these students are or what they contribute — it just tells them, again, that their labor isn't welcome here,” Carlos Alarcón, health and public benefits policy manager at the California Immigrant Policy Center, said in a statement.

‘Moving the goal posts’

Both bills Newsom vetoed hinged on a legal analysis backed by UCLA scholars. The experts have echoed for years that the ICRA does not apply to state agencies.

“California remains committed to economic opportunity and tuition affordability for all students, including leading efforts to support undocumented students who face growing barriers and threats under this cruel federal administration,” Newsom said in his veto message.

“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 the legislation before we proceed.”

Ahilan Arulanantham, a faculty Co-Director at UCLA’s Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy and one of the architects of the legal challenge, said in a statement that Newsom has “moved the goal posts,” for the second time with this veto.

The first time Newsom vetoed Opportunity for All, he said the theory must be tested in the courts before implementation. A 2024 lawsuit attempted to do just that.

A student and former UC lecturer sued the UC system for what they argued is a "discriminatory policy” of not hiring undocumented workers, violating a California law barring employers from taking immigration status into consideration when hiring. UC argued that implementing the IRCA challenge could open them up to federal lawsuits.

A state appellate court said the hiring policy was in fact discriminatory – UC then appealed with the California Supreme Court which upheld the lower court ruling. Neither court ruled on the legality of the ICRA challenge.

“Now the Governor asks for another suit, rather than standing with undocumented students,” Arulanantham said. “Ironically, the Governor’s failure to do what is right will not protect the University, but instead leave it even more vulnerable.”

The coalition of sponsors, largely led by students themselves, has vowed to continue advocating for Opportunity for All.

“We will continue reminding those in power that our communities deserve more than rhetoric and that their disastrous decisions have real consequences for our communities and for our elected leaders’ political futures,” IJAC said in their statement.