A federal judge ruled in the week of Feb. 23 that colleges may deny admission to immigrants living illegally in the United States.
Part of a lawsuit challenging the admission policies of a number of private universities as well as seven public colleges in Virginia was dismissed by Judge T.S. Ellis III of the U.S. District Court in Alexandria.
Ellis said under the U.S. Constitution, the prevention of the enrollment of illegal immigrants does not violate students’ rights. Such policies would be ruled unconstitutional if a school that determines the legal status of students does not abide by federal standards.
Five illegal aliens, as well as Equal Access Education, an immigrant-rights group, are questioning the policies of admittance at the institutions. In a previous ruling, Ellis denied the continuation of a suit against the schools to three of the plaintiffs, who wished to remain anonymous during the proceedings.
However, two students were granted anonymous status in their continuation of the suits because they are minors, according to a release from the Office of Virginia Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore.
One of the students, a Virginia high-school graduate, has temporary legal status but was rejected by two of the schools named in the lawsuit, Virginia Tech and George Mason University.
The other schools named in the lawsuit are James Madison and Virginia Commonwealth Universities, the University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, and Northern Virginia Community College.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Kilgore sent a memorandum in September of 2002 to universities and public colleges in Virginia that urged institutions to deny admittance to illegal immigrants, and furthermore, to report such applicants to federal authorities. The memorandum is said to have prompted the lawsuit.
In a release issued Jan. 6., Kilgore praised Judge Ellis’ ruling.
“Higher education is a valuable opportunity that Virginia offers; however, I continue to believe that it is not too much to ask that people obey the laws of our society before they attempt to take advantage of what our society has to offer,” he said in the release. “Legal immigration made America what it is today. But we are also a nation of laws, and we hope and expect that people will obey them.”
Larry Hincker, Associate Vice President for University Relations at Virginia Tech, said that admission decisions are not made based on national origin.
“We don’t make a decision whether to admit or not admit based on place of birth,” he said.
When evaluating applications, whether or not a student gains admission to the school relies upon academic achievement as well as other factors pertinent to the admission standards expected of all applicants from America or elsewhere. However, whether or not a student is able to enroll at Virginia Tech relies upon the ability to prove one’s citizenship of the United States.
“A student cannot enroll unless they show some proof of citizenship,” said Hincker. “I’m aware that some people claimed they weren’t [admitted to the university based on their immigration status], but that wasn’t the case.”
Hincker said that on the Virginia Tech application, the necessity to produce proof of citizenship is noted; however such a factor does not come into place when making the admission decision.