A motion authored by Chair Hilda I. Solis and co-authored by Sheila Kuehl will now allow the country to hire residents who are not citizens to be hired for county jobs excusing positions where citizenship is required by law.
The motion starts with “‘Los Angeles County is a community of immigrants from each corner of the world. They have made Los Angeles County what it is – a county rich in culture, diverse in history, and innovative in so many facets. For instance, immigrants make up 44 percent of the County’s workforce, run small businesses that generate 40 percent of the County’s self-employed income, and pay billions of dollars in federal taxes every year. Additionally, nearly 60 percent of children born in the County have at least one immigrant parent, and 44 percent of households are headed by an immigrant.”
Sheriff’s Department jobs will remain in effect for applicants for Los Angeles County along with any county-appointed positions for peace officers.
Solis stated that there are approximately 880,000 non-citizens in LA county as of 2018, and there are barriers they face for employment in the county.
“Barriers to employment based on cultural, racial, ethnic, or religious characteristics are contrary to our core values. Citizenship overlaps these demographic characteristics,” shared Los Angeles County Public Defender Ricardo García. “This motion, by Supervisors Solis and Kuehl, will promote equity in hiring and give the Public Defender’s Office access to the most qualified applicants for employment, irrespective of their citizenship status. An immigrant’s experience will advance our vision, mission, and values to protect our clients’ legal and human rights and enable us to more readily realize my goal that our employees fully represent the demographics of the population that we serve.”
