There are several merits to pursuing a formal education. One of the strongest of which is that it equips one with the knowledge and expertise to stand their ground and compete on equal footing with many (if not all) of their counterparts.

Following this line of reasoning alone, the argument can be put forward that the challenge of whether or not to allow university students who don’t possess any known legal status to be employed by the university system is a simple and straightforward one; this proposal should be adopted.

After all, the universities in question can more accurately ascertain that the students in question possess the needed repertoire of skills to handle the task that they’re seeking employment for. In addition to this, if a university publicly appears unwilling to engage the services of its products, what latent message would that be passing across about the level of quality that the students of the school possess?

All of the above said in favor of allowing the university system to employ students with no legal status is all well and good, except for a few, very essential things. At the top of that list is the simple yet immutable fact that reality isn’t quite so cut and dried.

What’s more, there candidly is no real rational ground on which you can stand to truly justify the employment of individuals without a legal status not just within the university system but also within the nation’s workforce, generally.

To fully see why this might be so, there are a few things that you have to understand fundamentally. Along these lines, the first and most important question that you have to answer is, following such a line of action, just how far is too far?

When seeking employment in any capacity, there are certain fundamental elements that it’s naturally expected that you possess, if you’re intent on securing that job. Some of the variables that fall in that category include a strong understanding of the core competencies required to execute tasks in that profession, the necessary skill sets to complete said competencies, and, where available, experience.

Along these lines, some of the things that are expected of you but will hardly go mentioned are that you be allowed to be legally present in the location where you plan to get a job in the very first instance.

It stands to reason that, in any context, your legal status in a given location be established before you can even consider getting a job.

I mean, you only need to think about it; if not for the fact that the immigration laws in the United States of America are out of whack and in need of major, extensive, and comprehensive reforms, why would the country be playing host to people who didn’t enter it or aren’t allowed to stay in it legally?

While it might seem harsh, having a legal status shouldn’t even be something that any sane employer asks, university system or not. This is because having a legal status as a student is something that should actually be a foregone conclusion.

As a matter of fact, rather than deliberating on whether universities should be allowed to employ students whose legal status is in doubt, we should be talking about why there are students who are in the country illegally and are still allowed to study in the first place.

But, let’s assume that things are already the way that they are and there is no changing that fact. And, for a brief moment, let’s also assume that students who don’t possess a legal status are allowed to get jobs in the university system, too.

Now, the big question is, how exactly do you see things ending in this fantasy world?

Well, certain students who need a source of income are given an environment where they can make the needed funds. That’s all well and good. But what about the implications of this particular action?

For example, how would taxation work in such a setting?

As these individuals don’t even have an official record with the government in the first instance, will their taxes be waived or overlooked? And, if they will, in fact, be paying taxes, how is that whole show supposed to go, considering their ambiguous position in the country?

Also, assuming that, because they don’t have legal status, they are allowed to fly under the radar and not pay taxes, how would that be fair to foreign university students who have taken the pains to have and maintain legal status in the country? Furthermore, what message is that supposed to pass to indigenes?

Let’s look at things from another point of view too. Let’s say that all the matters discussed above are considered non-issues and efficient workarounds are found to bypass a lot of them.

Let’s also assume that these individuals without legal status are given the opportunity to at least work within the university system. This would in turn rationally raise questions like, are these students supposed to work in the university system for the rest of their lives? How long are they expected to have this privilege, to begin with? And, if they will be leaving the university system at some point, will this same no legal status exception be made for them when they join the national labor force as well?

It’s time for some unpleasant and bitter doses of the truth pill.

Is there a place for helping students who don’t have legal status get a source of income?

Yes, there probably is.

However, extending this helping hand shouldn’t come at the expense of flat-out ignoring their legal status. Going ahead with such a move would be tantamount to not thinking things through carefully. And, in so doing, we’ll find ourselves traveling down the same uncertain path that #DACA is on at the moment.

Indeed, this exception seems like a small and even simple one to make. Perhaps that’s why the fact that it has potentially far-reaching consequences is so easy to miss. University students without legal status shouldn’t be made employable to even university systems. That’s one “small” concession that we’re guaranteed to not see the end of!