Georgia's highest court has rejected a request by a group of young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children to overturn the dismissal of their lawsuit, which sought access to in-state tuition at the state's colleges and universities.
The roughly three dozen young immigrants have temporary permission to stay in the U.S. under an Obama administration policy introduced in 2012. Their lawsuit asks a judge to instruct the university system's Board of Regents to allow them to qualify for in-state tuition.
The Georgia Supreme Court said Monday the lawsuit is barred under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which shields state government agencies from being sued.
Charles Kuck is an attorney for the young immigrants, and he says they plan to take legal action against Board of Regents members individually.