A conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch Inc., filed a lawsuit against the University of California Board of Regents Tuesday in an effort to stop the system from giving in-state tuition and financial aid to undocumented students.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Earl De Vries who was a former Republican candidate in the California State Senate, claims that federal law prevents undocumented immigrants from receiving state or local benefits such as in-state tuition for the UC, according to a press release Thursday.
“Taxpaying California citizens deserve to have their hard-earned money spent lawfully,” De Vries said in a press release.
Under the U.S. code Title VIII. 1621, undocumented immigrants are ineligible for state benefits unless the state has enacted a law that provides eligibility for those benefits. The lawsuit alleges that California has not enacted such a law for the UC.
About 900 students at the UC are identified as undocumented as of 2013. The lawsuit estimates that about $30 million is given to undocumented students every year.
Assembly Bill 540, passed in 2001, grants in-state tuition for undocumented students and applies to the California State University and California Community Colleges systems. The UC Board of Regents chose to adopt the policy in 2002.
The University also voluntarily assumed AB 131 which passed in 2011 and gives state financial aid to undocumented students.
The lawsuit claims that those voluntary adoptions of state laws do not equal to actual state laws that make undocumented students eligible for in-state tuition.
The University believes its policies are consistent with federal law and with other public institutions of higher education in the state, said UC spokeswoman Dianne Klein.
AB 540 has been challenged in the past. In Martinez et al v. Regents of the UC filed in 2006, plaintiffs argued U.S. code Title VIII. 1623 prevents undocumented students from receiving higher education benefits unless citizens, regardless of their residency, are eligible for benefits as well.
In 2010, the California Supreme Court sided with the UC, ruling that AB 540 provides for in-state tuition for undocumented students as well as nonresident citizens, since AB 540 grants in-state tuition to anyone who has attended a California high school for three or more years.
The lawsuit is expected to take months before receiving an official court ruling.
Compiled by Jeong Park, Bruin senior staff.