California Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Giving In-State Tuition to Illegal Aliens
Despite federal law that prohibits states from offering in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens, the California Supreme Court has ruled that the state can continue to do so. Justice Ming Chin's decision handed down on Monday allows California to continue offering illegal aliens who attend high school in the state for at least three years to receive the discounted rate.
Approximately 25,000 illegal aliens in California pay in-state tuition rates.
In 1996, Pres. Bill Clinton signed the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. The law prohibits states from offering a benefit to illegal aliens that U.S. citizens from another state can't receive. But the California judge said in his ruling that U.S. citizens from another state can benefit from the law because if they attended high school for at least three years in the state, they would qualify for the tuition benefit even if they no longer reside in the state.
Ten states, including California, have passed laws that offer in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens.
For more information, see the Los Angeles Times.