Undocumented college students across all California university campuses could be given the opportunity to apply for on-campus jobs through a new piece of legislation.
Assembly Bill 2586—the Opportunity for All Act—aims to provide equal access to campus employment opportunities for all students regardless of their immigration status, according to Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-San Diego), who introduced the bill.
“This has been a student-led movement, an undocumented student network who’s been advocating for this for some time,” Alvarez told New Times. “I just happen to now be in a position where I can help them with their efforts through the Legislature.”
Alvarez said it was important for him to introduce this bill because the federal government has lacked action on immigration reform and a generation of young people who came to this country undocumented as infants is now college age and unable to enter the workforce.
“These are individuals who are working hard doing what we expect of all young people—which is to focus on their studies and be successful to earn a degree for a career—and because of the failure of the federal government to act on immigration laws, individuals themselves are unable to use those skills to be employed,” he said. “We have a lot of Californians in the thousands who already came to this country, and those individuals have now gone through our schools, and they’ve decided to go to college and make the sacrifice and they’ve earned their degree. We are looking for a way to allow them to enter the workforce in the legal way.”
Cal Poly’s World Languages and Cultures Department Chair Karen Muñoz-Christian told New Times that this is much-needed legislation that will offer important access to employment for deserving students who have been excluded from those opportunities.
“The financial benefits to such students are significant and will support their pursuit of higher education,” she said. “These students and their campuses will be enriched by their valuable contributions as student assistants, researchers, tutors, and student leaders.”
Alvarez said the bill has currently gone through the Higher Education Committee of the Legislature, and it’s now at the Assembly Appropriations Committee, whose members will vote on it by mid-May.
If the bill makes it out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, it will then go to the Senate and then to Gov. Gavin Newsom in September to either be signed or vetoed.
“I definitely want to acknowledge the students at the many campuses and universities who have really been fighting for this, and we’re hopeful that all of their efforts can be successful through this legislation,” Alvarez said. Δ
This article appears in May 9-19, 2024.