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PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Rhode Island lawmakers are headed for a showdown over a new policy giving illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates at state universities.
Legislation to reverse the tuition break has been introduced by critics who say a state education board was wrong to approve the policy without legislative consent.
But supporters of the idea have filed bills of their own to make the policy state law, meaning it would be more difficult to rescind.
boston.com
Associated Press
February 2, 2012
A state higher education commission approved the tuition break last fall. It's available to immigrants who attend and graduate from a local high school and commit to seeking legal status.
State Sen. Juan Pichardo pushed for years to get lawmakers to approve the policy. He said it's important to make it state law to ensure that a future commission doesn't reverse the policy.
Pichardo, D-Providence, said people brought to the U.S. illegally as children should get the same shot at higher education as other Rhode Island students.
"These kids who are here through no fault of their own deserve that opportunity," he said.
But several of Pichardo's colleagues call the policy discriminatory and unfair, saying it gives illegal immigrants an advantage over out-of-state U.S. citizens. Their legislation would rescind the policy and prohibit the state from giving in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.
"We're rewarding people who are undocumented," said Sen. Nicholas Kettle, R-Coventry, one of the lawmakers signed on the bill. "And the way it was done was wrong. It should have gone through the General Assembly."
Gov. Lincoln Chafee, an independent, supports the tuition policy.
Twelve states have similar rules giving in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Both bills await committee hearings and no votes are presently scheduled.
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