Lawsuit targeting in-state tuition breaks

SACRAMENTO, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Dozens of U.S. citizens allege in a lawsuit that offering in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants is unfair to official citizens.

The citizens ask in Martinez vs. Regents of the University of California that undocumented students stop receiving tuition breaks in the California school system, while documented students receive compensation for past out-of-state tuition payments, Stateline.org said Friday.

A California Court of Appeals panel ruled in September that the immigration tuition practice was in violation of federal law, giving the lawsuit a green light.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, whose state also offers illegal immigrants discounted tuition, has asked the California Supreme Court to review that ruling.

"Though not legally binding on other states, its (the appeals court decision's) singular presence in the judicial landscape casts a pall over the viability of his public policy, not only in California, but nationwide," Shurtleff said in a letter to the higher court.

Stateline.org said the other U.S. states that use a similar immigration tuition system are Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington.