Michael Drake, the system's president, while addressing UC's board of regents Thursday, said allowing those students to work campus jobs would have been "the right thing to do" but presented too many legal risks and thus was "not viable."
Drake cited several possible legal ramifications. He said the university could be "subject to civil fines, criminal penalties, or debarment from federal contracting," while human resources staff could face prosecution if they "knowingly participate in hiring practices deemed impermissible under federal law." He also suggested that undocumented students and their families could face prosecution or even deportation.
EdSource reports the U-C regents voted to suspend consideration of the policy for one year. Some regents against the motion said it could be even more difficult to implement the policy a year from now, alluding to the possibility that former President Donald Trump could be back in office.
In not moving forward with the proposal, the regents "let us down today," said Jeffry Umaña Muñoz, a UCLA undergraduate student and one of the undocumented students who organized the movement advocating for the proposal. There are more than 4,000 undocumented students across UC's 10 campuses.
