Thread: Colorado Senate passes bill allowing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants (update)

2/25/2013
By Tim Hoover
The Denver Post

A bill that would allow illegal immigrants to attend college at in-state tuition rates passed the Colorado Senate with a historic vote Monday, the first time any Republicans had ever voted for the bill.

Senate Bill 33 passed the Democratic-led Senate on a 23-12 vote, with three Republicans voting in favor. The bill now can go to the Democratic-controlled House, where it is expected to pass and possibly pick up a few GOP votes there as well.

"We are now going to be able to reward young people who have played by the rules," said state Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, a co-sponsor of the bill. "They are now going to be able to give back."

The bill allows students who have attended a Colorado high school for at least three years, and who have graduated, to attend public colleges and universities at the in-state tuition rate regardless of their immigration statuses.

There has been far less opposition to the bill than in previous years, when even some Democrats opposed the idea and no Republicans supported it.

Still, historic opponents like Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, called the bill "false hope" for students who still wouldn't be able to legally work in the country.

Colorado Senate passes bill allowing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants - The Denver Post