“A group of out-of-state college students filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday challenging a law that lets some illegal immigrants who graduate from California high schools pay lower in-state fees at the state’s public colleges and universities.”
The 2002 law allows students who attend at least three years of high school in California to qualify for the same in-state fee break given California citizens, regardless of their immigration status.
The lower fee levels can save students thousands of dollars a year. For example, out-of-state students pay nearly $24,000 a year to attend the University of California, about $17,000 more than California residents.
The lawsuit was filed in Yolo County on behalf of 42 plaintiffs, including two children of a former San Diego congressman. Nine UC Davis students make up the largest plaintiff group from one campus.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the discriminatory policy affects 60,000 out-of-state students who pay higher fees than in-state illegal immigrants. The plaintiffs are seeking damages.
“The class becomes bigger each year because each year thousands of law-abiding freshmen enter our system,” said Redwood City attorney Michael Brady.
At issue is a federal law the plaintiffs claim specifically bars states from offering benefits to illegal immigrants without also making them available to U.S. citizens.
California is one of nine states with laws allowing undocumented students to qualify for lower in-state tuition rates. A lawsuit filed in federal court in Kansas challenging that state’s law was dismissed, but is being appealed.
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To qualify for the in-state rate, students must have attended a California high school for at least three years, must graduate from a California high school and must sign an affidavit declaring they will seek to become legal residents as soon as it is feasible.
Suzanne Kattija-Ari, 23, a UC Davis veterinary student from Hawaii whose father immigrated from Thailand in the 1970s, said the fee break is unfair to those who follow the law but end up paying more than their illegal counterparts.
She said she has had to work several part-time jobs and take out student loans to pay her high out-of-state fees.
“It’s not so much that they got this benefit and we didn’t; it’s just the unfairness of it,” she said. “They’re 18 now. They should do the right thing, apply for citizenship.”