Letters to the Editor: Why conservative scholars should love what UC is doing for immigrant students

To the editor: I am one of the authors of the legal memo that undergirds the Opportunity For All campaign, which seeks to remove hiring restrictions for all University of California students, regardless of immigration status. (“UC regents take groundbreaking step toward hiring immigrant students without legal status,” May 18)

Our theory rests on principles that should be particularly attractive to conservative legal scholars (and judges): close fidelity to the text of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, and respect for state autonomy.

It also will permit UC to provide equal educational opportunities to all of its students.

I am proud of the university for having the courage to embrace an idea whose time has truly come. I hope legal actors across the political spectrum will now do the same.

Ahilan Arulanantham, South Pasadena

The writer is co-director of UCLA’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy.

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To the editor: The UC regents’ decision to support employment opportunities for undocumented students is long overdue.

For more than two decades, Congress has failed to pass the Dream Act, a sensible piece of legislation that would provide undocumented youth with a path to citizenship through attending college or serving in the U.S. military. The inability of Congress to enact any meaningful immigration reform is doing irreparable harm to immigrant students and their families, as well as to society as a whole.

I have taught at UCLA for more than 30 years. Some of the finest students of my career have been undocumented immigrant students who have succeeded against all obstacles. And yet, even with a degree from UCLA, they have been legally barred from working.

UC is standing on the right side of history by providing job opportunities for immigrant students so they can fully contribute to our universities and to our society.

Kent Wong, Los Angeles

The writer is director of the UCLA Labor Center.