Tag Archives: in-state tuition

Using Lawsuits To Provide Equal Benefits For Americans

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On Monday, The College Fix posted an article about the program in the Commonwealth of Virginia that provides in-state tuition for illegal aliens.

The article reports:

Virginia’s outgoing Attorney General Jason Miyares quickly agreed to a consent decree to resolve a Justice Department lawsuit filed against the state in late December challenging laws allowing students in the country illegally to qualify for in-state tuition and financial aid at public colleges and universities.

“In a joint court filing, Miyares and lawyers for the Justice Department asked a federal judge to declare the Virginia Dream Act invalid and bar state authorities from enforcing it. If approved, the joint consent decree order would make Virginia the fourth state to scrap its policies that allow eligible undocumented students to pay the lower in-state tuition rate,” Inside Higher Ed reported Jan. 2.

“The joint agreement came just one day after the Trump administration sued Virginia over its in-state tuition policies—the seventh such lawsuit.”

A Dec. 30 news release from the Justice Department announcing the lawsuit had stated: “These laws unconstitutionally discriminate against U.S. citizens who are not afforded the same reduced tuition rates, scholarships, or subsidies, create incentives for illegal immigration, and reward illegal immigrants with benefits that U.S. citizens are not eligible for, all in direct conflict with federal law.”

The article concludes:

Similarly, Virginia followed suit, prompting an appeal, WRIC reported: “In a Dec. 31 joint press release, the Legal Aid Justice Center, the ACLU of Virginia and the Dream Project announced that they had filed an emergency motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit that took aim at both undocumented and refugee students in Virginia.”

“The Attorney General of Virginia has abandoned his duties to defend Virginia law and the people of the Commonwealth, so we must,” said ACLU-VA Senior Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg in the release. “Attorney General Jason Miyares has sided with the Department of Justice — intentionally working in secrecy and over a holiday weekend — to manufacture a predetermined outcome to deprive Virginian students of not only their futures but their day in court.”

If  you are going to give in-state tuition rates to people who are here illegally, why not just give everyone in-state tuition rates?

Common Sense Comes To The Courtroom

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Townhall posted an article yesterday about a recent court decision in Arizona. Arizona’s Supreme Court ruled that DACA recipients are no longer eligible for “in-state” tuition.

The article reports:

The state’s attorney general Mark Brnovich welcomed the ruling as his office has continually argued that colleges and universities were violating state and federal laws by allowing DACA recipients to pay in-state tuition rates.

“While people can disagree what the law should be, I hope we all can agree that the attorney general must enforce the law as it is, not as we want it to be,” the statement said.

In-state tuition at Arizona State University is $9,834 for the next school year. Non-resident tuition is $27,618. At Maricopa Community Colleges, residents pay $86 per credit. Non-residents pay $241 per credit.

This decision makes sense to me–if DACA recipients are not actually citizens, how can they be considered legal residents of a state? There is no reason for them to be given preferential treatment over American citizens.

 

 

Does This Make Sense To Anyone?

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California has declared itself a sanctuary state. Frankly, that is unconstitutional–even under the Tenth Amendment.

The Tenth Amendment states:

The Tenth Amendment assigns all powers not delegated to the United States, or prohibited to the states, to either the states or to the people.

Securing the borders is one of the powers delegated to the federal government, so California’s declaration that they are a sanctuary state is unconstitutional. However, there are other aspects of the actions of California that need to be looked at.

Yesterday The Western Journal reported that California will raise tuition for out-of-state students by nearly $1,000, a hike that will not apply to illegal alien students. So an illegal alien will pay less for an education in California than a legal American citizen from another state. That seems a little odd to me.

The article reports:

California Assembly Bill 540 mandates that illegal alien students can obtain in-state tuition if they attend high school in the state for a minimum of three years and earn a California high school diploma.

…UC regent chair George Kieffer reported that UC students have 31 percent less funding each in 2018 when compared with their 2000 counterparts.

“California is perpetually broke,” Mehlman told TheDCNF. “And yet they manage to come up with services for illegal aliens.”

The immigration advocacy spokesman elaborated on services the state provides to illegal aliens, such as grants, public housing, as well as various other state and local services.

Mehlman postulated that about half of illegal aliens work “off the books” and the other half use “bogus social security numbers.”

The demographic costs California taxpayers over $25 billion per year, according to FAIR.

TheDCNF reached out to the California Immigrant Policy Center for comment but received none in time for press.

I think if I were a legal American student from another state I would sue for discrimination. This policy makes no sense.