The dreams of undocumented students in California who want to earn a degree from one of the state’s public colleges or universities came closer to reality in 2001, when California Assembly Bill 540 (AB 540) was passed. Under the legislation, which was signed into law in 2002, students who 1) attended a California high school for at least three years, 2) graduated from a California high school or received an equivalent degree (GED), and 3) signed the California Nonresident Tuition Exemption Request are eligible to pay in-state tuition at University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), and California Community College (CCC) campuses. 1 AB 540 is commonly perceived as legislation that aids only undocumented students. The University of California Office of the President (2008) reports, however, that students who benefit the most from this law are U.S. citizens (see Perez Huber, Malagon, and STILL DREAMING LEGISLATION AND LEGAL DECISIONS AFFECTING UNDOCUMENTED AB 540 STUDENTS Latino Policy & Issues Brief N O . 2 3 M a y 2 0 0 9 by Nancy Guarneros, Cyndi Bendezu, Lindsay Perez Huber, Veronica N. Velez, and Daniel G. Solorzano Solorzano 2009). Some opponents argue that undocumented AB 540 students “displace” native-born students and add a financial burden to the state’s public higher education system, yet research has found that AB 540 increases school revenues by bringing in tuition from students who otherwise would not be in college (Gonzalez 2007). Many undocumented AB 540 students come from low-income families and cannot pay out-of-state tuition (Olivérez 2007). AB 540 provides greater access to higher education for undocumented students in California. Despite the proven value of AB 540, the dreams of undocumented students may have to be postponed because the legality of the statute is currently being contested in Martinez v. Regents of the University of California. The suit was brought in 2005 by a group of out-of-state U.S. citizen students who had been declared ineligible for AB 540 at UC, CSU, and CCC and, as a result, paid out-of-state tuition. The case has moved to the California Supreme Court, which will hear arguments later this year. Plaintiffs claim that AB 540 violates federal immigration law; the defense states that AB 540 is in compliance because legal status is not a criterion for eligibility. Rather, the criteria are based on whether the student