The court let a lower court's ruling stand that said U.C.'s ban against hiring illegal immigrant students is discriminatory and that it must be reconsidered, previously reported the AP. University officials say this puts them in an uncertain position as they negotiate with the Trump administration following the withdrawal of federal research funds.
A spokesperson from U.C. states that they are considering their options as the court’s decision “creates serious legal risks for the University and all other state employers in California.”
According to U.S. News, Iliani Perez, a former U.C. lecturer who is the plaintiff in the case, said that she hopes the ruling gives the university “the clarity to finally unlock life-changing opportunities for the thousands of immigrant students who contribute to its campuses.”
Brad Dacus is president of the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI).
"Universities in California are in a real quagmire in that, here, they've been effectively ordered — courtesy of the state courts of California — that they have to allow illegal aliens, people who are here illegally, to work and to be able to work; and this is a serious deviation from federal law," says Dacus.
He explained that the law actually says that, if one helps illegal immigrants, you may get in serious trouble.
"If you aid and abet those who are here illegally, in terms of providing housing or in terms of providing employment, you are violating federal law, and you could be punished with up to 11 years behind bars," states Dacus.
He said this is not a minor issue, but that it is a major butting of heads between established federal law and the “activist leftist agenda of the State of California.”
"Which wants to ignore federal law. In the end, if enforced, federal law always wins," states Dacus.
