A new bill moving through the Capitol would create safeguards for immigrant professors working at Community Colleges across the state.
It would require colleges to offer remote teaching opportunities to faculty who were deported or denied re-entry to the U.S. after a brief trip.
East Los Angeles College professor Natalina Monteiro during a recent Assembly Higher Education Committee shared a recent story of when she was approached by an immigration officer.
“Who questioned whether I was authorized to be on campus and demanded that I produce my credentials…The encounter generates profound fear and uncertainty for myself, my students and my family.”
Monteiro says the experience shows the need for the bill to ensure student education is not impacted by immigration enforcement at community colleges.
The bill passed the committee and now heads to appropriations.