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Abstract: 

Immigration law is an exclusively federal area when dealing with questions like legal status, right to work and eligibility for permanent residency or citizenship. In the case of eligibility for education benefits, federal law gives state and local authorities some autonomy in deciding what, if any, benefits to allow. This article examines three cases in which state actions that extended education opportunities to non-citizens were upheld on appeal—a case in which a taxpayer was unsuccessful in challenging California's extension of in-state tuition rates to non-citizens who met long-time residency requirements; a decision invalidating a Florida regulation denying tuition benefits to U.S. citizens whose parents are undocumented immigrants; and another California case granting undocumented residents in-state tuition in spite of language in a federal law that plaintiffs claimed prohibited it.

Keywords: DeVries v. Regents of the University of California; Ruiz v. Robinson; Martinez v. California

Affiliations:  1: Co-Editor; 2: Co-Editor.