A pair of congressional Republicans want to ban colleges and universities from hiring illegal aliens as campus employees, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R., Ohio) and Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.) on Tuesday will introduce legislation that would condition a school's eligibility for federal funds on compliance with federal law prohibiting businesses from employing illegal immigrants. The bill, which was exclusively provided to the Free Beacon, would also require all federally funded higher education institutions implement E-Verify, a federal program that checks the immigration status of all employees.
Vance and Banks drafted the legislation in response to the University of California's announcement that it would allow illegal alien students to work on campus. The university paused the proposal after private pushback from the Biden administration, Politico reported.
"Left-wing college administrators want to transform their campuses into sanctuary cities," Vance told the Free Beacon. "Their latest scheme at the University of California is the most lawless yet: ignore federal law and hire illegal immigrants. We cannot let American tax dollars fund illegal wages."
The University of California Board of Regents decided to shelve the plan for just one year—until just after the November election—in a move that both Vance and Banks find suspicious. The lawmakers' bill would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 "to prohibit an institution of higher education that employs unauthorized aliens from receiving funds from Federal student assistance or Federal institutional aid and to require institutions of higher education to participate in the E-Verify Program."
More than seven million illegal aliens have crossed the southern border since President Joe Biden took office. That record number has put tremendous pressure on public services across the country.
Many illegal aliens do not hold work permits and instead rely on an underground economy, often avoiding taxes and other labor regulations. More than 4,000 students enrolled in the University of California system are illegal aliens.
The bill is gaining traction in both chambers of Congress. Sens. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), and Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) have cosponsored the Senate version of the bill. Rep. Bob Good (R., Va.) is a cosponsor in the House.
The University of California, Politico reported, was prepared to argue that the federal ban on the hiring of illegal aliens only applies to the federal government. That argument prompted the Department of Homeland Security to warn the school system that it would have to intervene and put the Biden administration in an uncomfortable position during an election year.
"American universities receive tens of billions of dollars in federal funds every year," Banks told the Free Beacon. "Ensuring they're not violating the law, employing illegal aliens, and driving down wages for American workers is the least we can do."