Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is intervening in a federal lawsuit regarding a decades-old state law regarding in-state tuition.
It was announced Wednesday that Governor Kelly filed a motion to intervene following the United States Department of Justice’s (DOJ) filing of a lawsuit to overturn the state’s law that makes Kansas students without legal immigration status eligible for in-state tuition at higher education institutions. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has backed the DOJ’s lawsuit with a news release from the Governor’s office calling Kobach’s actions “contrary to the will of the Governor and the Kansas Legislature,” noting the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 254, which sought to ban undocumented immigrants from receiving any state or local public benefits, emphasizing in-state tuition benefits.
In the news release, Governor Kelly stated, “There are many ways that we could, and should, work together to fix this country’s broken immigration system. However, the federal government’s use of its resources to target Kansans who were brought to the United States as children does nothing to solve the fundamental issues our nation faces.
In pursuing higher education, these young Kansans are a net benefit to our entire state, gaining the education and training needed to be valuable members of our workforce and contribute to our economy.”
We have attached a link to the Governor’s motion to intervene here.
