Did You Know...

Two years ago, immigration enforcement activists scored a victory in a lower California court challenge to the state’s illegal aien student tuition-discount scheme. The lower court ruled that California’s version of the DREAM Act conflicted with federal immigration law. Flashback:

A state appellate court has put a financial cloud over the future of tens of thousands of undocumented California college students, saying a state law that grants them the same heavily subsidized tuition rate that is given to resident students is in conflict with federal law.

In a ruling reached Monday, the state Court of Appeal reversed a lower court’s decision that there were no substantial legal issues and sent the case back to the Yolo County Superior Court for trial.

“It has a huge impact,” said Kris Kobach, an attorney for the plaintiffs and a law professor at the University Missouri at Kansas City. “This is going to bring a halt to the law that has been giving in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.”

He said it is a big win for California taxpayers who have been subsidizing education for undocumented immigrants.

The suit was filed in 2005 by out-of-state students attending California colleges. They challenged the state’s practice of allowing illegal immigrants to pay significantly lower tuition than they pay at the University of California, the California State University and the California Community Colleges.

UC charges out-of-state students nearly $18,000 a year more than it charges resident and undocumented students who graduated from California high schools. At CSU, out-of-state students pay about $8,000 more. And at the state’s 110 community colleges, they pay an average of about $160 a unit instead of $20 per unit – or $1,920 for a full load instead of $240.

The suit was dismissed by the Yolo County Superior Court in 2006, setting up the appeal.

The open-borders state bureaucrats appealed. And now, they’ve scored their own win on behalf of illegal alien students. The ruling from the California Supreme Court this morning upholds the law. It was expected. Kris Kobach, the immigration enforcement attorney who recently won election to the Kansas Secretary of State position, plans to appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Meanwhile back on Capitol Hill, planning for the federal illegal alien student bailout proceeds. Get ready.