Forced to Enroll Illegals, Man Claims; UCLA Sued

Claiming university officials illegally forced him to enroll undocumented aliens, a former UCLA employee filed suit to get his job back Thursday.

David P. Bradford, who was in charge of determining legal residency of student applicants for the university general counsel’s office, said he was terminated in September, 1985, when he refused to comply with an order to process enrollment applications for undocumented aliens, an order which he believed to be against state and federal law.

While the state attorney general had said it would be illegal to enroll undocumented aliens, university officials were relying on a contrary Alameda County Superior Court ruling when they issued the policy in July, 1985, requiring that such enrollment applications be processed, Bradford’s attorney, Richard L. Knickerbocker, said.

Denial of unemployment benefits prompted Bradford to file suit in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking both to overturn that order and to be reinstated to his old job. The suit also asks the court to prevent the university from enrolling illegal aliens, calling it a “waste and misuse of public funds.”

University officials could not be reached for comment Thursday.