California’s Law supersedes Federal Immigration Statute, but Arizona cannot enforce Federal Immigration Law?

The California Supreme Court ruled on Monday that illegal aliens are allowed to pay cheaper in-state tuition rates at California universities including the UC systems. The UC systems in particular, charge about $12,000 per year for in-state fees, and $35,000 for out of state.

Some critics are arguing that California’s decision on this matter is a violation of the 1996 Federal Statute, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act, which prohibits education benefits to illegal aliens, versus those immigrants that are actually here legally. But the California Supreme Court says that the State Law is not conflicting with the Federal Law because in California, any immigrant can automatically apply for in-state tuition as long as that immigrant attended high school within the State for three years.

This is a rather frustrating matter especially if you look at this somewhat in comparison to Arizona’s decision earlier this year to enforce its border security and deport persons that were in the State illegally, after the Federal Government stood firm on doing nothing, as it has done for many years. No surprise there.

But one might argue that Arizona enforcing the Federal Immigration Law is not the same situation as granting educational benefits to illegal aliens in California. Well, in fact there are some similarities when it comes to Federal Law. Under Aliens and Nationality 8 USC Section 1304, Provision E (and yes the Federal Law does address immigrants as aliens, not undocumented persons, but I digress) clearly spells out that any alien 18 years of age or older must possess a certificate of alien registration receipt card. Failure to do so, results in a misdemeanor, fined $100 and/or a 30 day imprisonment.

What happens if this illegal alien does not hold this paperwork after he or she is accepted to attend college in California? Does the Federal Immigration Law become enforceable, or are they just allowed to continue to attend college?

So California is allowed to grant educational benefits to illegal aliens if they’ve attended high school for at least three years, even after the California Supreme Court says State Law is not conflicting with the 1996 Federal Statute prohibiting such educational benefits, but Arizona, enforcing Federal Immigration Law within its State boundaries, has an injunction filed by the Arizona Supreme Court, blocking the enforcement? There seems to be a huge conflict between State Law and the Federal Law and what a State can and cannot do when it comes to illegal aliens.

I have to say that California seems to be holding a higher degree of amnesty for those illegal aliens attending high school for three years, versus others coming to California seeking an education from out of state. Why does that not sound somewhat discriminatory in a way? If you’re a permanent United States citizen, a student from Arizona or Colorado and you move to California, do you still have to end up paying more for education than the illegal alien now?

At the height when California public universities, both the UC and CSU systems are raising the tuition fees, this seems more like a pandering of making education “less expensive” for illegal aliens.

I will go ahead and note that the United States is the most welcoming country in the world, and encourage my generation from all over the world to come to this country, get an education and apply for a visa or citizenship. I even have friends from college that are from countries like Brazil, Germany, Sweden and Canada who all have to pay the certain out of state fees, some are seeking U.S. citizenship. Yet, they all have to wait, while other illegal aliens cut to the front of the line, and do not speak a word of English, and are able to apply for this low cost tuition for their education.  

It is truly remarkable that when it comes to our Federal Immigration Laws, Arizona mirrored that law, yet the similar Federal Immigration Statutes when it comes to certain education benefits of illegal aliens is not enforced upon California’s State Law.

When are we going to draw the line, and resolve the conflict?