Thread: Supreme Court Turns Down In-State Tuition Case

Supreme Court Turns Down In-State Tuition Case

Updated Friday, June 27, 2008, 2:03 PM

Kansas Tuition Breaks for Illegal Aliens Left Standing

On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari to Day v. Bond, a case challenging a Kansas law that gives in-state tuition discounts to illegal aliens. The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act allows a state to provide the subsidized, lower in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens but only if the state also provides the same low rate to U.S. citizens who are residents of other states. Ten states, including Kansas, are currently violating this law by giving in-state tuition breaks to illegal aliens but charging US citizens from other states higher rates. By refusing to hear the Kansas case, the Supreme Court may have paved the way for a continuation of tuition benefits for illegal aliens in these states -- and, even worse, an expansion into other states.

The Court’s action lets stand a ruling by the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that ignored the central tenant of the case – that Kansas was violating Federal law. The Appeals Court, like the U.S. District Court that first heard the case, instead focused on whether the American citizen plaintiffs had a private right of action in the matter and standing to sue under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Both courts ruled the citizen plaintiffs had neither.

We can now expect a continuation of the status quo: states that openly discriminate against out-of-state students in defiance of federal law. Since enforcement of the law is left in the hands of the Department of Homeland Security – an agency that has consistently failed to act -- citizens who have been discriminated against have no legal recourse. Citizens have a political recourse, however, especially in this election year. They can demand that their elected representatives force DHS to prosecute states that give preference to illegal aliens over U.S. citizens.

For more on this travesty of justice, read NumbersUSA Executive Director Roy Beck’s June 13 blog. http://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusab ... late-.html

http://www.numbersusa.com/content/news/ ... uitio.html

It's a shame the court didn't rule on this one and put this injustice to rest once and for all.