Thread: CA: Court ruling diminishes IAs opportunities for college

Court ruling diminishes illegal immigrants' opportunities for college education

Ruling could strain migrant students

By Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
Article Created: 09/17/2008 09:34:33 PM PDT

The days of heavily subsidized tuition for thousands of California college students who are illegal immigrants could be coming to an end.
A state appellate court has declared unconstitutional a 2001 law that allows illegal immigrants to pay the same college tuition fees as legal residents and U.S. citizens.

The unanimous ruling by the three-justice panel was issued Monday. It could force many undocumented students at the state's public colleges and universities to drop out of school because they can't afford to pay higher tuition rates.

"I'm struggling to pay for everything as it is," said Hector Gonzalez, a 23-year-old Cal Poly Pomona student who entered the country illegally with his parents when he was 3. "If they were to triple or even double the tuition, it would pretty much make it impossible for me to continue my education."

California allows illegal immigrant students who attended a state high school for at least three years and graduated to pay college tuition fees that are significantly lower than the amount charged to students from other states who are legally in this country.

In 2005, 42 students from 19 states filed a class-action suit in Yolo County in Northern California, claiming that state higher education institutions were unlawfully denying them a benefit that was granted to illegal immigrants. The suit was dismissed by the Yolo County Superior Court in 2006. The decision was appealed.

The 3rd District


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Court of Appeal in Sacramento ruled the state law, AB540, conflicts with federal law.
"The reason the California statute cannot stand in the court's view is based on the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says that federal law is the supreme law of the land," said Mike Hethmon, general counsel for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm in Washington that represented the plaintiffs.

In reaching its decision, the court looked at a federal statute that was part of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. That statute says that if a state gives any illegal immigrant "a postsecondary educational benefit" on the basis of residence, the same benefit must be given to every other eligible U.S. citizen student regardless of residence.

The state's three public college systems, the defendants in the case, might appeal the ruling.

"We're disappointed in the ruling and think it will have a negative effect on many students who are financially able to attend UC and the other California colleges and universities because of AB 540," said Chris Patti, an attorney for the University of California system.

Clara Potes-Fellow, a spokeswoman for the California State University system, said the institution is "concerned about the students who are caught in the middle of this legal dispute. I'm sure it's creating anxiety. That doesn't help them feel secure and confident that they can complete their education."

Patti said the state Legislature tried to fashion a law that complied with the federal residency requirement by making the benefits contingent on attendance at a California high school, which the defendants maintain is not the same thing as residency.

"All the students who take advantage of AB540 are not California residents and some were never California residents," Patti said.

The appellate court sent the case back to the lower court to determine the proper remedies for the students who paid higher tuition than illegal immigrants.

The court ruled the students can maintain their claim for "injunctive relief," which Hethmon believes entitles them to reimbursement for overpayment of tuition.

Hethmon estimates about 75,000 public college and university students have paid the higher tuition rate since the state law took effect.

"Essentially, California is facing billions of dollars in money that it has unlawfully taken from these students," Hethmon said. "Unless the state can come up with some clever legal theory, it's going to have to give it back to them."
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_10493665

The appellate court sent the case back to the lower court to determine the proper remedies for the students who paid higher tuition than illegal immigrants.

The court ruled the students can maintain their claim for "injunctive relief," which Hethmon believes entitles them to reimbursement for overpayment of tuition.

Hethmon estimates about 75,000 public college and university students have paid the higher tuition rate since the state law took effect.

"Essentially, California is facing billions of dollars in money that it has unlawfully taken from these students," Hethmon said. "Unless the state can come up with some clever legal theory, it's going to have to give it back to them."

This is the real juicy part that I love. California, with it flounting federal law, could be forced to pay back millions and millions of dollars to American citizens who have been charged the higher tuition rate over the years.

That would be so sweet...poetic justice!!!

This rulling has little chance of being reviewed by the CA Supreme Court.

This tid bit of info came from a post from the DREAMers portal.
They are on PMS right now.

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/c.../casescome.pdf


A party who does not like the outcome in the Court of Appeal can seek further review by the California Supreme Court. This is done by a petition for review, which is a document that resembles a brief.

The main job of the California Supreme Court is to promote justice by overseeing the development and consistency of the law. It is not a court of last resort to make sure every case was handled correctly. Therefore, it has no obligation to review every decision of the Court of Appeal. In fact, it receives thousands of petitions for review every year and it grants fewer than 5 percent of them.