Defense of immigrant tuition law costs state nearly $175,000
Associated Press - July 6, 2008 8:14 PM ET
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - The state has racked up nearly $175,000 in legal costs defending a law giving some illegal immigrants a break on tuition at public colleges and universities.
And the expenses could keep rising if opponents of the measure try again to roll it back.
The 2004 state law lets illegal immigrants who meet certain rules pay the lower tuition normally reserved for legal Kansas residents. For example, the students must be graduates of Kansas high schools and pledge to seek legal status.
The law was challenged by parents and out-of-state students represented by law professor Kris Kobach, who also chairs the Kansas Republican Party.
Two federal courts dismissed the case, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to show they were harmed by the law. And the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the case.
Kobach says he's looking at mounting a new challenge, possible in state court.