The California Supreme Court weighed in Monday on the politically charged immigration fray when it ruled that undocumented immigrants are entitled to the same tuition breaks offered to in-state high school students to attend public colleges and universities.
While the ruling applies only to California, the case was closely watched nationally because nine other states, including New York and Texas, have similar laws.
Republican congressmen Lamar S. Smith of Texas and Steve King of Iowa filed a so-called friends of the court brief urging that undocumented immigrants be denied the reduced rate.
The lawsuit considered by the court was part of a broader legal assault led by immigration legal scholar Kris Kobach, who has filed numerous cases across the country seeking to restrict the rights of undocumented immigrants.
He represented a group of U.S. students who filed the lawsuit seeking to invalidate the California law.
Kobach did not return a phone call seeking comment about the ruling in California.
A unanimous state Supreme Court, led by politically conservative Justice Ming Chin, said the California provision was constitutional because U.S. residents also had access to the reduced rates.
