On Monday November 15, 2010 the California Supreme Court unanimously held undocumented immigrants can qualify to pay cheaper in-state tuition rates at California public universities. The decision applies to 112 community colleges, 33 universities and two independent postgraduate schools in California’s public postsecondary education system.
A California state law, which took effect in January 2002, states those “without lawful immigration status” — if they qualify on other grounds — can get in-state tuition rates if they have “filed an application to legalize his or her immigration status.” The plaintiffs in the present case pointed to a federal law that stated undocumented immigrants cannot qualify “for any postsecondary education benefit” (i.e., lower tuition rates) if other U.S. citizens did not get the same benefit. The lower court of appeals held undocumented immigrants, even if they lived and studied in California, should be treated as “nonresidents” when it came to how much they pay to attend California public universities.
In its decision, the California Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision and found that federal law did not trump state law in this case. The California Supreme Court pointed out U.S. citizens from outside California, could receive in-state tuition as long as they attended high school in California for three or more years and either graduated from a high school or got their GED in California. The court further stated undocumented immigrants would be treated like U.S. citizens from outside California, in that only those undocumented immigrants who met the criteria would qualify for in-state tuition rates.
It is anticipated the decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. The California Supreme Court’s decision can be found in PDF at: Martinez v. U.C. Regents.