Tenth Circuit OKs In-State Tuition Break For Undocumented

DENVER (CN) – The 10th Circuit struck down the claims of U.S. college students who challenged a Kansas law granting in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants. Lead plaintiff Kristen Day, fellow students at state universities in Kansas and parents claimed Kansas House Bill 2145 violates the equal-protection rights of U.S. citizens from other states, passes the burden of subsidizing illegal immigrants to out-of-state students and increases competition for scarce tuition resources. They claimed the law is pre-empted by federal immigration law. The circuit held that the plaintiffs lack standing to bring their equal-protection claim and lack a cause of action for their statutory pre-emption claim. Plaintiffs’ theories of injury were “too conjectural and speculative,” and plaintiffs were “unable to show that their other theories of injury are traceable to the discriminatory conduct alleged,” Judge Ebel wrote. See ruling in Days v. Bonds.