http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/14885184.htm

2 Things!!

Please use the above link and leave a comment about this article.

Also, please write Rep. Culberson a thank you note. Contact Culberson at:
http://www.culberson.house.gov/contactinfo.aspx

Thanks! Dixie

Posted on Fri, Jun. 23, 2006

Tuition law is under attack
By LEILA FADEL
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

JOHN CULBERSONA Houston congressman is trying to block Texas and nine other states from using federal money to cover in-state tuition for illegal immigrants enrolled at public universities.

Rep. John Culberson, a Republican, tacked the amendment onto the 2007 labor, health and human services, and education appropriations bill that was approved recently by the House Appropriations Committee. The House is expected to debate the provision next week.

"The state of Texas is going to have to change its law," Culberson said. "It's wrong to grant a benefit like in-state tuition to an illegal alien that broke into the country and not law-abiding citizens from all 50 states."

A 2001 Texas law allows illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public universities as long as they graduated from a Texas high school, have lived in the state for three years and promise to seek legal status when they become eligible.

The amendment would deny federal dollars to any state that violates the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which bans states from granting rights to illegal immigrants that do not apply to every citizen in the United States.

Critics of the tuition programs argue that illegal immigrants should not pay in-state tuition because that is a benefit that is not available to residents of all 50 states.

A 2004 federal lawsuit challenging Kansas' practice of granting illegal immigrants in-state tuition was dismissed in October. A similar lawsuit is pending in California.

Officials with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the lawmaker who co-sponsored the Texas law say it complies with the 1996 federal law.

"In the [state] law, we don't say anything about undocumented immigrants," said state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio. "These children have graduated from Texas high schools. The purpose of it has been to help all Texas high school students."

Texas was the first state to allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition and receive financial aid.

This week, Culberson said that those who say his amendment will have no effect are mistaken.

He said he plans to introduce more amendments to the appropriations bill once it is up for debate.

"I will make my legislative intent crystal-clear," he said. "My constituents are furious. ... It's a violation of American law."

Since the Texas law was passed in 2001, the number of illegal immigrants registering for in-state tuition under the guidelines has increased from 393 students to 5,935 students in 2005, an increase of about 1,410 percent, the coordinating board said.

State residents paid an average of $4,857 in tuition in the past academic year, according to state figures. Out-of-state students paid an average of $12,953.

Ana Coca, a member of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education and coordinator of the Teacher Education Program at the University of North Texas in Denton, called Culberson's amendment hurtful to an effort to provide education to young Hispanic students.

The state law is intended for illegal immigrants who were brought into the United States as young children and cannot afford high tuition, she said. The average income of Hispanic households nationwide is about $10,000 less than the average income of the population as a whole, according to 2004 census data.

"If we close the door on these students, they will wind up with minimal jobs like washing cars," Coca said.

Brenda, 23, of Fort Worth, who has lived in Texas since she was 11 years old, said the state law allowed her to attend a four-year university. She asked that her last name not be used because she is an illegal immigrant.

Brenda said she left Tarrant County College, enrolled at UNT with a scholarship in 2003 and graduated with a degree in bilingual education last month.

"It would close a lot of doors to immigrants that are willing to go to college and can go to college," she said, referring to Culberson's amendment. "I didn't choose to come to the United States. My parents brought me. I had to go to school here, and now I'm part of this country, even though I don't exist here because I don't have a number."

Brenda said she is looking for a job as a bilingual education teacher but cannot work legally without a government work permit.

She said she will need a school district to sponsor her as a resident alien in order to hire her.

IN THE KNOW

In-state tuition

These states have enacted laws that allow resident illegal immigrant students to pay in-state tuition if they meet certain criteria.

Texas
California
Illinois
Kansas
Nebraska
New Mexico
New York
Oklahoma
Utah
Washington
SOURCE: National Conference of State Legislatures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leila Fadel, 817-685-3806 lfadel@star-telegram.com