Illegal Aliens Win Court Battle Over UC Tuition

An Alameda County Superior Court judge has ruled that undocumented aliens can be considered California residents when enrolling in state colleges and universities.

In what has been viewed as a test case, Judge Ken M. Kawaichi said that students who have lived in the state for more than a year should be permitted to pay the lower in-state fees. To do otherwise, he said, would be unconstitutional denial of equal protection rights.

Kawaichi’s decision will become final soon, after required documents are drafted and signed.

Although illegal alien students are currently admitted to California’s public colleges and universities as state residents, they are not considered residents for the purpose of fees and are therefore required to pay much higher out-of-state tuition charges.

The decision directly affects five students who filed suit against the University of California after they were admitted to various campuses in the nine-campus system but were asked to pay nearly $3,600-a-year tuition, in addition to the $1,300 in fees charged regular California residents.

It is unclear, however, whether the ruling will have wider implications for all UC students and those attending the California State University system, which was also named as a defendant in the suit, as well as for students in the California community college system.

Kawaichi’s ruling said it applied to the “named plaintiffs and those similarly situated.”

Peter Roos, a civil rights attorney in San Francisco, said that he viewed the decision as a victory for all illegal aliens “who should be treated the same (as any state resident) regardless of their immigration status.”

“The judgment,” Roos said, “is an injunction across the board. It is binding on all defendants.”

Donald L. Reidhaar, UC general counsel, said that he had “no doubt that the result of the decision, at least for the University of California, is that the policy would be changed.” “My own view is this--that the decision will either have to be respected or appealed.”

Reidhaar and other UC officials would not say Friday whether the case would be appealed.

Called ‘Not Binding’

Mayer Chapman, general counsel for California State University, also declined to say whether Cal State would appeal the case. Chapman argued, however, that, at the Superior Court level, the decision was not “precedent-setting . . . and therefore not a binding decision.” He would not say whether Cal State would change its policy if the decision is not appealed.

The case against the California colleges and universities was filed last August by five students, three parents and a taxpayer. All the students had earned high grades and had been longtime residents of the state, even though they and their parents were not legal residents. One of the students had lived in California since the age of 8.

Earlier Opinion

Cal State and UC have based their decision to deny in-state residency status to illegal aliens on an earlier opinion of the state attorney general’s office that a state law prohibited them from doing so.

Although the attorney general’s opinion is not binding on UC because of special constitutional authority granted to the Board of Regents, it is binding on the Cal State system and the state’s community colleges. UC has gone along with the policy in order to continue the university’s long-term practice of keeping its policies in line with the other systems. However, many UC regents and chancellors have voiced strong objection to the policy and have, in essence, circumvented the policy by trying to see to it that all affected students are given sufficient funds to cover the out-of-state fees.

Times staff writers Dan Morain and David Savage contributed to this article.