11/17/2010
The stupid state of the left coast has chalked up another blow against citizen taxpayers by forcing us to subsidize the higher education of lawbreaking foreigners.The reasoning of the California Supreme Court is that the legislation does not discriminate against Americans of other states because the requirement is based on attending a California high school for three years and graduating.
So are Nevada parents expected to send their 15-year-old to live in California to attend high school for 3 years? Ridiculous. Americans ARE disadvantaged by this ruling.
Furthermore, the court decision defies federal law which prevents illegal aliens from getting benefits unavailable to citizens, and is therefore a reversal of the principle that federal law is supposed to decide, as has been the argument against Arizona.
Court: In-state college tuition OK for illegals, KABC News, November 16, 2010DAVIS, Calif. (KABC) — The state supreme court ruled Monday that some illegal immigrants are entitled to the same tuition breaks offered to in-state high-school students to attend public colleges and universities.
The California Supreme Court said the law dictating in-state and out-of-state tuition does not treat American citizens worse than undocumented residents. Therefore, certain illegal immigrants can continue paying in-state tuition.
The case originated from a class action lawsuit in 2005.
Numerous University of California students from out of state felt it was unfair to be charged out-of-state tuition when certain illegal immigrant students from California were allowed to pay much lower in-state tuition.
Monday’s ruling was a disappointment to the plaintiffs, many of whom are now pursuing careers out of state.
”Giving folks in-state tuition when they don’t have citizenship, while denying it to folks who are citizens is kind of weird,” said plaintiff Suzanne Byrd. “I don’t know exactly what they can do with this degree once they’ve got it because most places are going to ask for them for their citizenship and proof and this kind of thing.”
The state legislature approved the law allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition as long they attended a California high school for at least three years and graduated from it.
About 10 states have the same rules.
In the ruling, the justices felt this case wasn’t about immigration. It was about the rights of states and legislatures to impose restrictions on public university eligibility. UC was part of the fight to keep the state law intact.
”We are educating undocumented immigrants in our schools and we’re investing in them,” said Kevin Johnson, dean of the UC Davis School of Law. “They’re part of our economy. They’re part of our future and some of them may be legalized and become U.S. citizens in the end.”
An estimated 25,000 illegal immigrants receive in-state tuition rates in California. The out-of-state students’ attorneys say that costs taxpayers $208 million a year, not to mention slots at UC that would otherwise go to students with citizenship.
The Chron included remarks from attorney Kris Kobach who has been a part of the lawsuit.
In-state tuition upheld for illegal immigrants, San Francisco Chronicle, November 16, 2010Nice of the UC system to maintain illegal alien deadbeats on our tax dollars!Attorney Kris Kobach, who represents the plaintiffs, called the ruling a “very weak opinion.” He said he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
Kobach, recently elected Kansas secretary of state, co-wrote Arizona’s immigration law requiring police to question anyone they suspect of living in the country illegally. He said California’s taxpayers lose millions of dollars each year because the state doesn’t require undocumented students to pay the out-of-state rate.
But UC Berkeley sophomore Uriel Rivera, who entered the United States illegally at age 14, said taxpayers lose nothing because students like him have enough trouble paying the in-state rate.
At UC, state residents pay $11,300 in tuition a year; nonresidents pay $34,000. State and federal law prohibit illegal residents from receiving public grants or scholarships.
So Rivera and other undocumented students scramble for private scholarships. He wants to become a history teacher.
Today, however, Rivera is so far behind on tuition that the campus library won’t even let him take out books.
This is a content archive of VDARE.com, which Letitia James forced off of the Internet using lawfare.