California’s Illegal Nanny-State
by: Bethany Stotts, September 25, 2008

The debate over illegal immigration—a culture war fought on the dual fronts of terminology and selective media coverage—reached another milestone this September, when the California state appeals court decided that a class-action lawsuit represented by the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) was improperly dismissed by the Yolo County superior court. The out-of-state plaintiffs filed suit in 2006 after California passed a law providing in-state tuition for exemption holders, including foreign nationals and illegal immigrants.

The complaint (pdf), issued by IRLI, argues that the California statute violates federal law and the U.S. Constitution by


a.) ignoring a Congressional statute that makes it “a compelling government interest to remove the incentive for illegal immigration provided by the availability of public benefits;â€