Undocumented students win another round against UC

State high court won't back hiring ban. The system says it faces risks under Trump.

- JAWEED KALEEM AND CLARA HARTER

DANIELA VALADEZ protests outside a UC Board of Regents meeting in 2023.

JAY L. CLENDENIN Los Angeles Times

The California Supreme Court has let stand an appellate court’s ruling that the University of California's ban on hiring undocumented workers is discriminatory and must be reconsidered.

The recent refusal to hear UC’s challenge to the lower court's decision was met with joy by immigrant rights groups. But UC expressed concern.

The university system has grappled with federal grant suspensions and other painful Trump administration actions after being accused of violating federal laws, and UC spokesperson Rachel Zaentz said in a statement that the ruling “creates serious legal risks for the University and all other state employers in California.”

UC is already fighting the Trump administration’s proposed $1.2-billion fine stemming in part from federal allegations that UCLA failed to protect Jewish students’ civil rights during pro-Palestinian campus protests last year.

The hiring policy case is the second time in recent weeks that the California Supreme Court has refused to review a lower court decision at the request of UC lawyers. Last month, the state’s high court declined to overturn an order that UC release the document outlining the terms of the Trump administration's settlement proposal.

UCLA argued that disclosing the information would harm ongoing negotiations with the Trump administration and open them up to unnecessary public scrutiny.