Georgia recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) have called for the same entitlements as U.S.-born Georgia residents in regards to in-state college tuition.

On Oct. 16, the Georgia Supreme Court heard nearly an hour's worth of arguments on whether the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents (BOR) should grant the DACA beneficiaries the same in-tuition rates as U.S. citizens across the University System of Georgia institutions.

The DACA recipients stated their status as beneficiaries of President Barack Obama's 2012 immigration executive action deferred action program renders them lawfully present in the U.S. DACA provides eligible undocumented immigrant youths to continue their education, pending on requirements from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within DHS, the undocumented immigrant is granted with two-year deferment from deportation. The two-year DACA period is renewable for another two years.

The BOR, citing "sovereign immunity," has called for the case's dismissal.

In a statement to Latin Post, Rigoberto Rivera of the Georgia Undocumented Youth Alliance said their lawyers are arguing that the BOR is not protected by sovereign immunity in this case. Two lower courts in Georgia have previously ruled that "sovereign immunity" prevents the BOR from lawsuits.

"Not when the BOR is misinterpreting a policy in their own convenience, this act would be illegal," said Rivera. "In case that the Supreme Court uphelds the decision of the lower courts, we will file a federal lawsuit against the state."

If the state's Supreme Court rules in favor of the 39 Dreamers, the case could revert back to the Fulton County Superior Court for the ruling on tuition policy.

While the case, known as Olvera et al v. University System of Georgia's Board of Regents, was argued on Oct. 16, it can take at least six months before the Georgia Supreme Court lands a decision.

Based on USCIS data, as of the first quarter of 2014, more than 20,000 DACA applications were accepted -- the eighth highest in the nation after California, Texas, Illinois, New York, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina, respectively. According Georgia's Budget and Policy Institute, the state loses approximately $10 million in lost tax revenue, annually, when excluding some immigrant students from the same in-state tuition rates as in-resident Georgians.

"The state can add an estimated $10 million per year to state and local coffers through a more skilled, higher earning workforce if it allows Georgians to pay in-state tuition at any public college or university if they are eligible to work without threat of deportation," the report noted, which was released in August.

Overall, across the U.S., 665,000 immigrants are recipients of DACA.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.