Arab American Civil Rights Lawyer Sues University of Michigan

posted on: May 10, 2014

The Arab-American Civil Rights League (ACRL), in conjuction with civil rights law firm Ayad Law, PLLC, is filing a federal class action lawsuit against the Univerity of Michigan’s Board of Regents on behalf of a Dearborn man for wrongful denial of in-state tuition.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit is an Arab U.S. citizen, who has lived in Dearborn since he immigrated to the U.S. in 2006. ACRL said he has been denied in-state tution at the university despite only ever living in Michigan since his immigration and graduating from a Michigan middle school and high school and attending a Michigan community college.

According to the ACRL, the University has been discriminating against applicants because of their immigrant backgrounds by classifying them as non-residents for tuition purposes. The plaintiff is one of several students in Michigan who have been required to pay out-of-state tuition to the university despite being lawful residents of the state, ACRL said.

The ACRL said the university violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and the constituion’s Due Process clause, and the denial of in-state tuition is based on the students’ international connections.

Aysha Jamali
Press & Guide