Mexican student's pursuit of NCSSM admission thwarted in court

NCSSM is a public residential high school in Durham for 11th- and 12th-graders that offers advanced courses and selects students based on a competitive application process.

A 10th-grader identified only as AT wanted to apply to the school, but administrators told him he was ineligible for admission because he isn't considered a North Carolina resident.

AT sued, claiming that barring students in the the government's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is unconstitutional, and sought an injunction requiring NCSSM to consider his application.

DACA gives young adults permission to remain in the U.S. temporarily, but it doesn't grant them resident status or citizenship.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles denied the injunction, saying nothing in DACA gives those in the program the right to establish residency in a particular state, so NCSSM's policy doesn't conflict with federal immigration law.