SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Diya TV) — Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation Sunday that would have allowed California’s public colleges and universities to employ students who cannot provide federal work authorization.
Assembly Bill 713 would have barred the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges from denying campus employment solely because a student lacked federal work authorization. The measure would have taken effect Jan. 6, 2027.
Newsom said the bill relied on an unresolved legal argument that the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 does not apply to state government employers. In his veto message, he cited the possibility of civil or criminal liability for state employees and said federal courts should determine whether that interpretation is valid before California changes its policy.
The governor vetoed a nearly identical measure in 2024. AB 713, introduced by Assemblymember José Luis Solache, followed renewed efforts by students and legal advocates to expand access to paid campus jobs for students who lack work authorization.
UC considered adopting a similar policy in 2023 but abandoned the proposal in 2024, citing the risk of federal enforcement, financial penalties and possible loss of federal funding.
A student and former UC lecturer later challenged the university’s policy in court. In 2025, a California appeals court ruled that UC’s policy discriminated based on immigration status under state law and ordered the university to reconsider it. The court did not decide whether federal law permits state universities to employ people who lack federal work authorization.
The California Supreme Court declined to review UC’s appeal, leaving the appellate ruling in place. UC has not changed its employment policy.
Students without federal work authorization therefore remain ineligible for paid campus employment at California’s public colleges and universities under current policy.
