Dean Johnson Comments on Immigration Bill for California Watch
Dean Kevin R. Johnson commented for California Watch, a publication of the Center for Investigative Reporting, on a California bill that would ban cities and counties from requiring employers to use the E-Verify database to verify the citizenship of workers. States and cities across the country have made laws requiring employers to use E-Verify, but the Employment Acceleration Act, currently awaiting Governor Jerry Brown's signature, would prohibit such requirements in California.
"What this tells me is that nationally, we have a set of immigration issues that people want addressed," said Dean Johnson. "If Congress will not pass meaningful reform, we will continue to see actions by state and local governments. Local and state governments are passing immigration laws like there's no tomorrow. This is quite extraordinary in the context of U.S. history."
Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.