ATLANTA – A group of illegal immigrant college students in Georgia are suing state officials as a means of obtaining in-state tuition rates despite their unlawful status.

The Georgia Undocumented Youth Alliance – a group that represents illegal immigrant students who qualify for President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program – is suing each individual member of the state’s Board of Regents over a decision to block in-state tuition rates for those without legal residency status, according to the group’s recent Facebook posts.

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“Today our lawsuit for in-state tuition against the Georgia Board of Regents was filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County! All 20 members are being sued in their individual capacities removing all arguments of sovereign immunity,” GUYA wrote in a post yesterday.

“It has been almost 3 years since we have been fighting our case in the courts, and each time we are getting closer at winning our fight for access to education,” it continued. “The ban is also mentioned in our lawsuit. Any decision in our favor will most likely remove the ban to the top 5 universities of Georgia.”

The post also quoted a decision by the “Supreme Court of Georgia” to dismiss a similar lawsuit against the state in February that was based on the state’s sovereign immunity: “[O]ur decision today does not mean that citizens aggrieved by the unlawful conduct of public officers are without recourse. It means only that they must seek relief against such officers in their individual capacities.”

International Business Times reports the lawsuit was filed on behalf of 10 young undocumented students who qualify for Obama’s DACA program who argue they have the “lawful presence” to receive the reduced tuition rates.

The difference between in-state and nonresident tuition at the University of Georgia is about $19,000 a year, or roughly $25,000 for residents versus $44,000 for nonresidents, according to the news site.

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GUYA launched a Change.org petition in March 2015 after the state’s board of regents approved in-state tuition rates for residents of Alabama, South Carolina and Florida to attract students to South Georgia schools. The petition, which fell more than 8,000 signatures short of its 10,000 signature goal, alleged the change is unfair to illegal immigrants who allegedly pay taxes to the state.

“My family has been paying GA taxes for the last 15 years, it is ridiculous that the Board of Regents continue to deny us entrance to Universities that we have helped fund,” Maria Carrillo, one of the students listed in the lawsuit, wrote on the petition site.

Several students were also recently arrested for protesting over tuition rates at Georgia State University in February, WXIA reports.

The American Immigration Council reports Obama’s DACA program has allowed roughly 665,000 illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors to avoid deportation through work and education permits, according to IBT.

The National Conference of State Legislatures’ website shows 18 states currently offer in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, and at least six states – California, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington – give them access to state aid.

Three states – Arizona, Georgia and Indiana – specifically ban public universities from offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, while Alabama and South Carolina forbid schools from enrolling them at all, according to the NCSL.