A judge in Nebraska tossed out an anti-immigrant lawsuit on Friday aimed at undocumented students who are eligible for in-state college tuition.
The lawsuit by six Nebraskans who claimed their taxes were being spent in violation of federal law was dismissed by Jefferson County District Judge Paul Korslund. He ruled that they should have first gone to the federal government and could renew the challenge in state court if the federal government declines to act.
Not entirely surprising, Kris Kobach, whose anti-immigrant crusade has been extensively covered by La Plaza, was a main player in this legal battle once again. Kobach called the setback a “bump in the road.”
“The case is far from over,” Kobach, the newly elected Kansas secretary of state, said.
The lawsuit stems from a case in January in which Fairbury residents claimed their taxes were being used to support the state’s immigration-tuition law in violation of federal law. The defendants in the lawsuit included the University of Nebraska Board of Regents and other state college boards. The lawsuit aimed to prevent school officials from following the law.
The law in question, which allows undocumented students in the state to pay in-state tuition, was passed in 2005. It makes college affordable for these students by slashing thousands of dollars versus the out-of-state tuition fee. At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, for example, undergraduate tuition is about $6,000 per year, but out of state students pay a heftier $17,650.
In order to be eligible, students must have graduated from Nebraska high schools, lived in the state for at least three years and are pursuing or promise to pursue legal status.
Other states across the country have similar laws, including New York and Texas.
Please allow this to be published as a comment. I only aim to inform, we may never agree on issues such as this but we should at very least listen to each others opinions.
FACT: Federal law passed in 1996 requires that any state that gives in-state tuition to illegal aliens must also extend it to everyone else, regardless of their state residency.
Specifically, Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Title 8, Chapter 14, Sec. 1623(a)) states: “an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.”
That being Insult Mr. Kobach all you want but it doesn’t change the fact.
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I press all Americans to respect our government and the laws of the land, even if we don’t agree with them.
“We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” – Ronald Reagan
God Bless America and let us all be thankful for the rights afforded to us.