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The University of California needs more time to study whether it can move forward with allowing the hiring of undocumented students for campus jobs, system President Michael Drake said during Thursdays meeting of the board of regents. Drakes comments were disappointing to undocumented students who hoped UC would decide this month to begin permitting the hiring.

In May, UC created a working group to consider a proposal to allow the hiring of those students and gave the committee a Nov. 30 deadline to complete a report on the issue and direct Drake on how to move forward. UC took that step after a coalition of undocumented students and their supporters, the Opportunity for All Campaign, lobbied UC to allow the hiring of undocumented students, arguing that it is legal for UC to do so.

Its possible UC could still allow the hiring of those students, but that decision wont be made by the original Nov. 30 deadline, with Drake on Thursday citing numerous legal considerations.

We will continue in the coming days and weeks to work on these issues. Our conversations to date have shown how complex and delicate this issue is, and how critical it is for the University of California to get this right. The legal considerations are numerous, and after several discussions with the stakeholders involved, weve concluded that it is in everyones best interest to study the matter further, Drake said.

We want to make sure that we are considering all possible alternatives and all possible ramifications, he added. Most importantly, we want to make sure that our undocumented students are protected in any scenario we decide to pursue.

Drakes comments werent surprising but were disappointing to undocumented students, said Jeffry Umaa Muoz, an undergraduate student at UCLA undergraduate student and one of the Opportunity for All Organizers, in a statement. The UC has the legal right and the moral obligation to fully implement Opportunity for All today, he added. Anything other than full, swift implementation is a delay tactic, and we will not accept it. We hope the Regents will work with us to reach a plan that works for us all. In the meantime, we will not stop advocating and organizing until we get our first check.

A federal statute, the Immigration Reform and Control Act, bans the hiring of undocumented immigrants without legal status. But undocumented students at UC and their supporters have cited a legal theory, developed byUCLAs Center for Immigration Law and Policy, that says the federal statute doesnt apply to UC and other state entities.

Earlier Thursday, several undocumented students and their allies spoke during the meetings public comment period and urged UC to permit the hiring of undocumented students. At the end of the public comment period, the students and their supporters shut down the meeting after crossing into a roped off area reserved for regents and chanting in support of their cause.

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UPDATE: UC needs more time to study potential hiring of ... - EdSource