For example, in the Los Angeles Times, an article about the case is entitled “Supreme Court allows California to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.”

This article is entitled “U.S. Supreme Court Upholds State Law Guaranteeing Undocumented Immigrants Access to Higher Education.”

In the Herald-Mail, their article is entitled “Supreme Court ruling on Calif. immigrant tuition rates could affect other states’ policies.”

The Court didn’t decide the case on the merits.  In other words, it hasn’t said one way or another whether California legally can grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.  There has been no ruling.

The Court has however declined to hear the case, which means little from a substantive perspective.  Further, the Court declining to hear this case, when it is asked to hear more than 8,000 cases a year, means nothing.  Practically though, it is true that California, for now, isn’t being blocked from offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

Other states may feel empowered to move forward with comparable laws since the Court didn’t shoot down the law (yet), but they do so with the likelihood that such a law violates federal law.

As a result, the DREAM Act won’t become law in this Congress, and its future is in serious doubt, at least in the next Congress.

There were numerous variations of the DREAM Act that have been introduced over the last few months.   In the past, the DREAM Act was associated with allowing in-state tuition to illegal immigrants regardless of whether the in-state rate was also provided to out-of-state residents.  This provision was removed from the bill.

How did the proposed DREAM Act work?

It provided a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who (not exhaustive):

1) Entered the U.S. before his or her 16th birthday.
2) Been in the U.S. for at least five years prior to enactment of the law.
3) Have been a person of “good moral character” since being in the U.S.
4) Are not inadmissable or deportable for reasons such as criminality.
5) Been admitted into an institution of higher education or have earned a high school diploma or GED.
6) Was under 30 years of age at the time of enactment of the legislation.
7) To maintain pathway to citizenship, must have earned a degree or have completed at least two years in a bachelor’s  degree program (or higher).

What is Being Said About the DREAM Act and its Defeat

• Federation for American Immigration Reform Statement on Defeat of the DREAM Act
• FAIR DREAM Act Page
• National Immigration Law Center Statement on Defeat of the DREAM Act
• NILC DREAM Act Information

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