Thread: TX-Ruling on in-state tuition for illegals clarifies little

Ruling on in-state tuition for illegal immigrants clarifies little
By EVA-MARIE AYALAeayala@star-telegram.com
Posted on Fri, Jul. 24, 2009

Both sides of the debate over in-state tuition for undocumented students claimed victory Friday after a ruling by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

What’s clear is that it’s unclear who won.

State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said it means the state’s offer of in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants breaks federal law.

Berman asked for the ruling in September after an appeals court ruled that California law conflicted with federal law by allowing the "postsecondary education benefit" of in-state tuition for undocumented students.

"What the attorney general is saying is that if this went to court, it would be overturned like it was in California," Berman said.

But lawyers with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said the ruling means the practice is OK because Abbott did not say whether in-state tuition is a "postsecondary education benefit."

"The ruling was clear that the practice does not violate equal protection," attorney David Hinojosa said.

Tom Kelley, a spokesman for Abbott, said the office does not elaborate on opinions.

In 2001, Texas became the first state to offer illegal immigrants in-state tuition and state financial aid for college. To get it, students must have maintained Texas residency for three years before graduating from a Texas high school or receiving a diploma equivalent.

Abbott’s opinion says that state or federal courts could come to a similar conclusion as the California court but that those courts had not defined "postsecondary education benefit."

Berman said he intends to sue to clarify the law and to have it overturned.

"We can’t give in-state tuition to illegal aliens," Berman said. "I’m trying to deal with illegal aliens in Texas."

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board estimates that 2,850 undocumented students were enrolled in 51 state colleges and universities that responded to a student enrollment survey in fall 2006.


http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news ... 05905.html

Boggles my mind that Illegal Aliens have lawyers who are trying to help them steal our money...

What have illegals paid into our system that they should be allowed to reap the benefits?

Originally Posted by Tbow009

Boggles my mind that Illegal Aliens have lawyers who are trying to help them steal our money...

Who pays these traitor lawyers?

What crap....this is a misuse of taxpayer funds!

Immigrant tuition law under review
By Brandi Grissom / Austin Bureau
Posted: 07/25/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT


AUSTIN -- The state's top attorney said Friday that it was unclear whether a state law that allows undocumented immigrants to pay lower in-state tuition rates conflicts with federal law.
In a complex opinion letter nearly a year in the making, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote that he could not predict whether a court would uphold the law.

Texas in 2001 was the first state to adopt a law allowing undocumented immigrants to pay less expensive in-state tuition at public universities.

Students can pay the lower rate if they graduated from high school or received a GED in Texas, have lived in the state for three years, and sign an affidavit verifying they are seeking legal residency.

Critics say that the law is one more benefit that encourages illegal immigration and that it is unfair to citizens from other states, who must pay higher tuition rates.

Proponents argue that the law protects the investment Texas has already made in educating the children of undocumented immigrants and it allows them to contribute to the economy.

State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, asked for Abbott's opinion on the law last year after a court in California ruled that a similar law in that state violated the 1996 Immigration Act, which prohibits affording non-citizen students a benefit for which U.S. citizen students are ineligible. That ruling is on appeal.

"There are millions of people in Texas, millions, who want something done about illegal aliens," Berman said.

Initially, Berman, who is not a lawyer, said he did not understand the opinion. He said Abbott told him in a phone conversation Friday that the opinion meant, "if Texas courts follow the law, in-state tuition for illegal aliens is not allowed in Texas."

He said illegal-immigration opponents are trying to find a Texas student who will sue the state to challenge the law.

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund attorney David Hinojosa said Abbott's opinion did not make a judgment on whether the in-state tuition law violates federal statutes. Abbott took no stance because courts with jurisdiction in Texas have not ruled on the issue, Hinojosa said.

"I don't know how the AG could possibly read the minds of judges in courts," Hinojosa said.

AG spokesman Charles Castillo declined to provide lawyers to explain the opinion and referred reporters to the document itself. The opinion states that because courts have not ruled on whether the state and federal laws conflict, the AG cannot predict whether a court would find such a conflict.

Further, the opinion states that the Texas law would not likely violate equal protection requirements in the Constitution.

Despite their differing interpretations, Hinojosa and Berman agreed that the opinion would not affect students in Texas unless a court made a decision on the law.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/education/ci_12912164

Illegal Immigrants May Pay Full Tuition Price
By ADAM RUSSELL
Staff Writer

Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said he has won a battle against illegal immigrants within the state regarding in-state tuition benefits with an opinion rendered Thursday night by the state attorney general's office.


Berman said despite his struggles to push immigration legislation during the recently convened legislative session, an opinion he filed more than a year ago will begin addressing benefits reserved for citizens.



"It means at least we have won one case finally," he said. "We tried to pass a lot of (immigration) bills this past session, and they were denied because of an agreement that was made with the Democrats at the beginning of the session not to hear any bills dealing with illegal aliens."


One of the bills would have repealed in-state tuition benefits for undocumented immigrants, he said, but died along with other legislation.


Berman said a federal law established in 1996, filed by U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, states "if a state gives in-state tuition to illegal aliens, it must provide the same for anyone regardless of where they live."


The attorney general's office was asked by Berman to rule on "whether the state of Texas may permit unauthorized aliens to receive the benefit of in-state tuition at Texas state colleges and universities." Berman said it is his understanding, as explained personally by Attorney General Greg Abbott, that "if Texas courts follow the law, in-state tuition for illegal aliens can not be granted."


Berman said a lawsuit will be required to implement the ruling and that the Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas (IROCT), which promotes the enforcement of immigration laws, is working to formally introduce suit against either the State of Texas or an individual university system.


Attorney David Rogers, who works with IRCOT, said he could not comment on any legal action against the state or possible litigants but that they are "very interested in the opinion."


He said a state statute under Texas' Education Code allows illegal residents to receive in-state tuition benefits, though it is against federal law.


Texas Education Code qualifies those eligible for in-state tuition to universities as those who "graduated from a public or private high school in this state or received the high school equivalent," "maintained residency continuously" for "three years preceding the date of graduation or receipt of diploma equivalent" or the "year preceding the census date of the academic term in which the person is enrolled in an institution of higher education."


Fall 2006 classification numbers by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board showed "institutions estimated that 2,859, or 79.9 percent of 3,577 students who submitted affidavits, were undocumented students." Fall 2008 institution survey numbers estimated that 8,189 students out of 1,144,327 or .72 percent of total fall enrollment for universities, health-related institutions and two-year colleges were undocumented.


The numbers do not indicate whether undocumented students paid out of state or in-state tuition fees.


"I think probably all of those undocumented people who under federal law are not eligible for in-state tuition but under state law are, in fact, getting in-state tuition," Rogers said.


Berman said Hispanic legislators are knowingly funneling millions of dollars to illegal aliens in the state and that he has made and will continue to make every effort to stop them.

"In-state tuition is charged to people who are residents of Texas," he said. "If you come from another country and are a student in Texas legally, you probably pay twice as much or if you are in Texas and a resident of Oklahoma, you would probably pay twice as much. In-state tuition is a benefit which accrues only to residents of Texas and what the attorney general is saying is only residents of Texas who are not illegal aliens."




http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20090 ... /907250314

Berman said Hispanic legislators are knowingly funneling millions of dollars to illegal aliens in the state and that he has made and will continue to make every effort to stop them.

This is an example of why some Hispanics should never get into positions of power. Its all about their people and no one else.

Should illegal immigrants receive in-state tuition?

Texas attorney general says there's not enough precedent to know for sure.

By Melissa B. Taboada
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, July 25, 2009

Asked whether the state can continue to grant in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in an opinion Friday that there's not enough legal precedent to answer the question with certainty.

Abbott said the sections of the Texas Education Code that permit illegal immigrants to pay resident tuition at state colleges and universities could conflict with federal law. But he added, "Given the paucity of judicial precedent, we cannot predict with certainty that a court would so find."

MORE ON THIS STORY

* Letter by State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, requesting AG to provide opinion on whether Texas is in violation of federal law by allowing illegal immigrants to receive instate tuition
http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/statesman/pdf ... uition.pdf

* Attorney General opinion
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinions/opi ... a-0732.htm

The opinion comes 10 months after a state representative pointed out that a California court found that state had violated federal laws by allowing undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition.

Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, passed in 1996, states cannot grant a "post-secondary education benefit" to someone who is not lawfully present in the U.S. unless they provide the same benefit to residents of other states.

A California appellate court has ruled that the federal law pre-empts California law, meaning California would have to abandon the tuition practice, which is similar to that in Texas. The case is now before the California Supreme Court.

State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, a longtime critic of illegal immigration, asked Abbott in September for an opinion on the issue.

In his opinion, Abbott said the terms "post-secondary education benefit" and "residence" are not defined in the federal law. He also said the state education code probably does not violate the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.

"We certainly would have preferred that the attorney general would have issued an opinion concluding that the Texas law would not likely be pre-empted by federal law, instead of punting it and leaving that open for another day. But he didn't opine on the other side either, so it's acceptable to us," said David Hinojosa, staff attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

In California, colleges are still granting in-state tuition to undocumented students who meet in-state tuition laws, Hinojosa said.

Berman said he didn't understand Abbott's ruling until he said Abbott called him to explain it.

"He's saying he doesn't know what a court will do, but he did say if the courts follow the law, they would have to conclude that illegal aliens should not be getting in-state tuition in Texas," Berman said.

In response, the attorney general's office said in an e-mail, "As with all opinions, we do not elaborate on opinions (they speak for themselves). Otherwise, we'll have no further comment in any way."

"I think there's universal confusion as to what the opinion actually says," said House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands. "I don't think they want to come out with a definitive answer because it hasn't been tested."

mtaboada@statesman.com; 445-3620

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/r ... ition.html

Now the Elitist and Special Interest Groups want U.S. Citizens and their CHILDREN to forsake opportunities for Higher Education to the ILLEGALS.