Officials with the university system say the decision puts them in a precarious position as they negotiate with the Trump administration after the withdrawal of federal research funds.
A 2024 lawsuit argued that UC's ban defied state law. In August, the First District Court of Appeals ruled that UC had not provided sufficient evidence to justify its “discriminatory policy” of not hiring students who are in the country illegally.
That ruling stopped short of overturning the hiring protocol, but the judges ordered UC to reconsider it using proper legal criteria. Instead, UC took the case to the state's high court, which last week declined to hear the challenge.
Rachel Zaentz, a UC spokesperson, said in a statement Tuesday that the university system is “assessing its options” and that the court's decision not to review the case “creates serious legal risks for the University and all other state employers in California.”
Under President Trump, UC has contended with federal grant suspensions and a White House demand that it pay a $1 billion fine over allegations including antisemitism and the illegal use of race in admission at the Los Angeles campus.
