He added, “We make the best policies when we hear the voices of all Californians, regardless of where they are born or what they look like.”
In March, the California Senate Rules Committee appointed an immigrant lawyer without full legal status to a statewide position. Attorney Lizbeth Mateo will serve as student aid advisor under the California Student Opportunity and Access Program Advisory Committee.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program provides work permits to immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children. However, the program does not give them full legal status.
Data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that California has the most DACA recipients (197,900) as of September 4, 2017. Some of them are professionals and qualified to serve in appointed civil offices, just like Mateo.
