Newsom Vetoes Bill Allowing Undocumented Student Employment at California Public Universities

• Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill citing potential consequences, including criminal and civil liability for state employees.
• The news comes a few days after University of California (UC) researchers found that undocumented enrollment at state universities dropped 30% from 2016 to 2023.
• UC previously explored hiring undocumented students before putting a yearlong pause on it in January due to legal issues within its solution.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would've let state colleges hire undocumented students.

Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 2586 on Sept. 22, saying he could not sign the bill due to potential consequences, including criminal and civil liability for state employees. There are an estimated 87,000 undocumented postsecondary students currently enrolled in California. The bill would have impacted those enrolled in the state's public colleges and universities.

Since 2001, when the California DREAM Act (AB 540) was signed into law, the state has continually broadened access to financial aid opportunities and other supports for students who call California home, regardless of their immigration status, Newsom wrote in a letter to members of the California State Assembly. While I am proud of these efforts, I am unfortunately unable to sign this legislation at this time.

Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego, introduced legislation in February to hire undocumented students at the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the California Community College system. While these students can access financial aid through the DREAM Act, they cannot participate in work-study, including on-campus jobs.

Newsom's veto comes several days after a new study by the University of California Civil Rights Project at UCLA and UC Davis School of Law found that undocumented student enrollment at California universities dropped 30% from 2016 to 2023.

The researchers called out difficulties for Gen Z undocumented students in gaining legal employment and other benefits that make college more affordable and accessible. UC saw a 51% decline in DREAM Act recipients, and the CSU experienced a 48% decline since the 2016-17 academic year.

As a researcher and as an administrator who has worked in both the UC and CSU, what surprised me was just how consistent the findings were across the two university systems, author and research associate William C. Kidder said in the report.

I believe that underscores how common it is for young Gen Z undocumented college students to struggle when [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] is beyond reach and when they are excluded from campus jobs and surrounding labor markets.

Allowing undocumented students to work on campus has been a long-running conversation at UC.

A month before AB 2586 was introduced, the university approved a yearlong pause on a plan to allow campuses to hire undocumented students. The university found that its legal pathway wasn't viable and was significantly risky for the institution and community.

Politico reported that even the Biden administration opposed the plan to challenge the 1986 federal law prohibiting people without immigration status from legally working.