Border law ambiguity fuels UC fee lawsuit

Thanks to the federal government’s inability to come up
with a firm, long-term answer to this country’s immigration
woes, some people are increasingly feeling like they have to find a
way to tackle illegal immigration on their own.

Now, you can add some University of California students to that
list of “some people.”

A recent lawsuit brought against the UC by 42
non-California-resident students contends that, because of the
estimated 400-some UC students who also happen to be illegal
immigrants, they are owed $305,000. Each.

That’s because the plaintiffs of the lawsuit say it is
unfair for students who aren’t even here legally to pay
resident fees ““ about $7,062 annually, excluding room and
board ““ while they, as U.S. citizens or legal residents, have
to pay an average of $24,882. The plaintiffs want the UC to
reimburse them for the difference and charge illegal immigrants the
out-of-state price tag.

At issue here is AB 540, a bill passed in 2001 that allows
students who have attended a California high school for three
years, graduated or received accreditation and enrolled at a state
college to pay their fees as if they were a California resident.
About 1,339 students were granted such exemptions last year, about
30 percent of whom may have been illegal immigrants.

The lawsuit’s attempt to link two very different groups of
students ““ namely out-of-staters and illegal aliens ““
is ambitious but misguided. For UC students from another state,
it’s pretty clear that they are not California residents. And
if they are not California residents, then they should not be able
to pay resident fees, or be refunded as if they were. Period.

Moreover, it’s wrong for these students to hold the UC
system accountable for a poorly constructed illegal immigration
policy when the federal government has provided the country with no
definitive agenda one way or another.

It’s morally ambiguous as to what degree illegal aliens
should benefit from a state-subsidized education. They are not
legal residents of California, or even of the United States. And
not all illegal immigrants pay the tax money that ultimately gets
kicked back to the UC in state funding, which means that legal
residents of California are footing the bill for illegal aliens to
attend a public university.

But there is a much bigger issue at the core of this lawsuit.
The government has not yet shown the long-term vision needed to
develop a clear plan on how strictly the country should guard the
borders and how many rights to give those who come across. The
paralysis has much to do with the cheap labor that illegal
immigrants provide, and the politicians’ desire to keep
taking advantage of day laborers who pick strawberries or build
homes for small wages and no benefits, while giving them nothing in
exchange.

Until the government once and for all decides how many
immigrants to allow across the border and what kind of rights to
grant them, domestic agendas will continue to be undermined by an
utter lack of leadership.

The UC is in the business of education, not setting policy on
the nation’s immigration problems. Those 42 students would be
better served taking their complaints to Sacramento, or better yet
Washington D.C., rather than the UC.