Thread: CT: Immigrant tuition bill finds support

http://www.newstimeslive.com/news/story.php?id=1031943

Immigrant tuition bill finds support
Undocumented students would pay in-state costs

By Eileen FitzGerald
THE NEWS-TIMES

A proposed bill in Hartford would give undocumented immigrant students the right to pay in-state tuition to attend the University of Connecticut and other state universities.
Now, they must pay the much higher out-of-state fees to attend UConn or the other four state universities.

If passed, an estimated 200 students a year could save thousands of dollars yearly.

To qualify, a student would have to have attended a school in the state for at least two years and have graduated from a high school in the state or its equivalent.

Students would have to file an affidavit stating they applied for legal immigration status or would have to do so as soon as they are eligible.

"Conceptually I don't have a problem with the bill,'' state Rep. Jason Bartlett, D-Bethel, said Tuesday. "If you graduate from a high school in Connecticut and your parents don't have proper documentation, you won't be able to participate in higher education because the fees would be unattainable."

Bartlett said he is comfortable supporting the bill with the requirement that a student attend school for more than two years and commit to becoming legal.

Maria-Cinta Lowe, executive director of the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury, supports the proposal that is now before the Committee on Higher Education and Employment Advancement.

"This makes a big difference and would make it possible for many, many students who because of economic situations can't go to college," Lowe said. "Many good students have seen the door shut in their faces after they have done so well in high school."

She said it's not the students' fault that their parents aren't documented. She's found that many parents work day and night and take years to become documented.

In-state tuition and fees at the University of Connecticut are $8,362 compared to out-of-state costs of $21,562, plus room and board. At the four other state universities, including Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, the difference is between about $6,700 for state residents and $15,400 for students from out of state.

Not everyone is happy about the proposal, including Elise Marciano, president of the Danbury-based United States Citizens for Immigration Law Enforcement.

"I think it is abominable for every illegal alien child to be allowed to pay in-state tuition," Marciano said. "This is just the foot in the door for people who want children from anywhere in the world to get in-state tuition."

She dismissed the argument that giving the students a better education would give them more job opportunities. She said even with an education the children should not be able to get a job if they are illegal.

But, Danbury Associate Superintendent William Glass thought it would be better in the long run to give the students a chance at an education.

"My experience in working with the immigrant population in Danbury, the vast majority of students and adults want to make a better life for themselves. They want to be contributing members of society," Glass said.

The public schools are required by law to provide a free education to children in elementary and high school, Glass said, and research is clear that the more levels of higher education, the higher the earning potential.

"If they can't get into college because it is cost prohibitive at the least expensive institutions and they are not eligible for financial aid, they'll be looking at the low-paying jobs that are drying up," Glass said. "What's the cost to society when we have an uneducated work force?"

Glass said this is a tough issue.

"It's one of those that tests a culture in their core values and core beliefs," Glass said.

State Rep. Felipe Reinoso, D-Bridgeport, the co-founder of the Bridge Academy in Bridgeport, sponsored the bill, which barely missed being passed last year.

The Peruvian native attended elementary and high school in Peru and arrived in the United States in 1969 to continue his education.

"I'm very optimistic this time," he said.

He's grateful the state provides elementary and secondary education to every child in the state. He said without this bill, the immigrant students must pay three times what other Connecticut students pay.

"Let's provide the opportunity," Reinoso said. "Everybody will benefit."


Contact Eileen FitzGerald

at eileenf@newstimes.com

or at (203) 731-3333.

Students would have to file an affidavit stating they applied for legal immigration status or would have to do so as soon as they are eligible.

No individual within the United States illegally should be afforded the opportunity to apply for legalization! The application process should only be available to those applying from outside the U.S. Legalizing criminal aliens already in the country is amnesty, pure and simple.

More aiding and abetting. Why don't they just roll out the Welcome Illegals one and all mat?

We need to make contact with some groups on our side in Connecticut and share with them the techniques we have refined to defeat this measure in several states before now.

W

So the citizens in Ct want pay the difference. No more federal aid for CT. Letting illegals have in state tuition is aiding and abetting and it is illegal.

Originally Posted by Beckyal

So the citizens in Ct want pay the difference. No more federal aid for CT. Letting illegals have in state tuition is aiding and abetting and it is illegal.

The people in CT do not want this measure. That is just what the article is designed to make people think.

I am certain that the majority of CT citizens would oppose this measure, but the proper organization must take place on the ground to defeat it.
W