Thread: Immigrant students brace for higher tuition

Published: 01.24.2007
Immigrant students brace for higher tuition
JACQUES BILLEAUD
The Associated Press
PHOENIX - Illegal immigrants who are students at Arizona public universities and community colleges are regrouping in the face of a new law that denies them cheaper in-state tuition and financial assistance provided by the state.
Out-of-state rates make tuition three times more expensive, so advocates for immigrants say those students are seeking help from foundations, charities and other private sources. Some plan to sit out a semester to earn enough money to return to school.
Erika, a 20-year-old student at Phoenix College who declined to provide her last name for fear of deportation, said she took a reduced class load at the community college this semester to lower her costs.
"I am part of Arizona," said Erika, who was 9 years old when her parents brought her to Arizona from Chihuahua, Mexico. "I work here. I study here. I pay taxes, and I am not going to be considered an in-state student."
The law, approved by state voters in November, doesn't prevent illegal immigrants from attending college, but it bars them from getting state-funded scholarships, tuition and fee waivers and other financial assistance. Illegal immigrants are already prohibited from getting federal financial aid, which university officials said accounts for the majority of assistance for students.
The law also prohibits immigrants from attending adult education classes and receiving child care assistance provided by the state. It was part of a package of four immigration proposals approved in November, all of which became law with at least 70 percent of the vote.
It's not known how many of Arizona's 120,000 university students and 380,000 community college students are illegal immigrants. Nor is it known how many illegal immigrant students have been granted in-state tuition and state financial assistance in the past, the schools and immigrant advocates said.
Supporters of the law said Arizonans don't want public higher education money going toward people who entered the country illegally and that such restrictions are needed to discourage illegal immigrants from setting up lives in Arizona, the busiest illicit entry point on the U.S.-Mexico border.
In-state tuition at the state's three public universities ranges from $4,550 to $4,766 per year. Out-of-state tuition runs from $13,490 to $15,750.
"The public sentiment is that we want the state to do everything in its power to address illegal immigration," said Republican state Sen. Chuck Gray of Mesa, a proponent for cutting off higher education benefits to illegal immigrants.
While other states might require in-state recipients to be lawful residents, the higher education restrictions in Arizona were unusual because they were made law by a vote of the people, said Josh Bernstein, director of federal policy for the National Immigration Law Center, which aims to protect the rights of low-income immigrants.
Ten states have passed laws in recent years that offer in-state discounts to illegal immigrants if they meet certain conditions, such as attending and graduating from high school in their states.
Most universities in the country admit students who illegal immigrants, but out-of-state college costs serve as a de facto barrier for immigrant families with small incomes, Bernstein said.
Erika, the Phoenix College student, said she is the first person in her family to attend college and that the new law makes things harder on her, because her parents can't pay for college. "I'm on my own on this one," Erika said.
Opponents of the law say it is unfair to immigrant students, whose parents sneaked them into the country and who grew up in the state and have little or no connection to relatives back home.
Roberto Reveles, president of Somos America, a coalition of groups that have organized immigration protests in Phoenix, said the heavier financial costs will result in fewer immigrant students seeking college degrees.
"These are people from low-income families who struggle to make ends meet," Reveles said.
While the children weren't responsible for their illegal entry into the United States, supporters of the law said the students shouldn't be allowed to enjoy cheaper tuition when American citizens from other states face higher college costs in Arizona.
"Everybody empathizes with the position these kids find themselves in, but it's the parents who put their kids in these compromising positions," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors limits on immigration.
Critics also question whether the schools have turned a blind eye toward illegal immigrant students receiving higher education benefits. The universities said they had long asked students to identify their immigration status on applications and sought additional information if such questions remained.
The schools said they weren't expecting to make major changes under the law.
"A lot of these steps have been in place for quite a while," said Johnny Cruz, spokesman for the University of Arizona in Tucson, noting illegal immigrants couldn't get in-state tuition under previous policy.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/39690.php

I think any one of these students should be able to land a pretty good job in Mexico...

Immigrant students are not bracing for higher tuition.

Illegal alien students are bracing for higher tuition.

W