10 Mar 2016
Immigrant Students File Tuition Lawsuit in Georgia: GLAHR v. Alford
MALDEF, Mar. 9, 2016 - "MALDEF, along with local counsel Horsley Begnaud, LLC, filed a federal-court lawsuit against the University System of Georgia, challenging a policy denying in-state tuition to individuals lawfully present as recipients of deferred action from the United States government. ... The lawsuit contends that the University of Georgia System violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution because the policy is preempted by federal immigration law and the federal government's exclusive authority to regulate immigration. The lawsuit also alleges that Defendants' acts violate the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause because they deny in-state tuition to deferred action recipients without a constitutionally valid justification. Under federal law, deferred action recipients are lawfully present and permitted to remain in the United States for a certain period of time during which they may be granted federal employment authorization and a Social Security Number."