SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Today, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) and the Asian Law Caucus (ALC), members of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, applauded the California Supreme Court in upholding California law AB 540 in the case, Martinez v. Regents of the University of California. AB 540 is a state law that allows both documented and undocumented students to attend California's colleges and universities and pay in-state tuition rates. 

Last September, APALC and ALC, along with a coalition of nearly 80 Asian Pacific American (APA) civil rights, legal, social service, and community organizations, filed an amicus ("friend of the court") brief with the California Supreme Court, supporting immigrant college students' ability to pay in-state tuition under AB 540. The brief describes how thousands of APA students have been able to afford college under AB 540, how undocumented students would be harmed if AB 540 was eliminated, and how APA youth become undocumented and the challenges they face. 

Supporting organizations represented major urban areas in the state with significant APA populations. These organizations also reflect the broad diversity of the APA community, including Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, South Asian, and Southeast Asian organizations, like the Chinese American Citizens' Alliance, Filipino Community Center, Japanese American Bar Association, and the Sikh Coalition. National organizations also signed on, including the Asian American Justice Center, member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, and the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium. The rest of the supporting amici are listed below.

Stewart Kwoh, Executive Director at APALC, said, "We are heartened that in this decision, the Court supported access to higher education for all immigrant youth. The Martinez case is important for the APA community. In the UC system alone, APA undergraduates make up 40-44% of undocumented AB 540 students, constituting the second largest group of undocumented students in the UC."

The California Supreme Court overturned an earlier lower court decision, and ruled that provisions in AB 540 was not preempted by federal law and did not violate the privileges and immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Plaintiffs had filed the suit challenging its legality and the part of the provision allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, alleging that it confers a benefit based on residency and conflicts with federal law. 

Titi Liu, Executive Director at ALC, stated, "Martinez is a closely-watched decision with significant legal and policy implications that could seriously affect immigrant youth throughout the nation. Similar suits have been brought in other states, like Texas and Nebraska. Today the Court affirmed that Congress allowed the states to enact their own laws concerning who gets resident tuition and who does not.  The California Legislature got it right." 

Carmina Ocampo, Staff Attorney at APALC, said, "Many undocumented students find it nearly impossible to finance their college education, even with the ability to pay at in-state tuition rates, as they are ineligible for federal, state, and university financial aid, private loans, and most scholarships. Congress should enact the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform, to resolve these issues once and for all."

To download a copy of the amicus brief, go to www.apalc.org.