By Ruxandra Guidi
The two bills faced Republican opposition and were passed right before the legislative deadline. Assembly Bill 1236, the Employment Acceleration Act of 2011, will not make it mandatory for private companies to use the federal employment verification system, or E-Verify. Assembly Bill 130, also known as the California Dream Act, will make public financial aid available for the state’s undocumented-immigrant college students.
By signing both into law, Gov. Brown fulfilled a campaign promise and sent the state lawmakers a pro-immigrant message.
“I think the governor signing both of these bills is an acknowledgement that immigrants are a crucial part of the great state of California,” said Sara Sadhwani, a spokesperson with the advocacy group California Immigrant Policy Center in Los Angeles. “It’s an acknowledgement that we have to both invest in our future economy as well as protect our current economy.”
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Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 130 into law, allowing undocumented students to apply for privately funded college financial aid through their universities. Its sister bill, AB 131, was held back by lawmakers because it would require a larger expenditure of state money.
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Victor, a former City Heights student now attending community college, didn’t find out he was undocumented until he was asked to fill out college applications for a class assignment. The news radically changed the high achiever’s path, landing him in community college where budget cuts mean fighting for classes and delaying his transfer to a university.