Bill Passes in Hartford to Reduce Tuition for Illegal Immigrants

By JENNIFER MEDINA
Published: June 2, 2007

HARTFORD, June 1 — Illegal immigrants who graduate from Connecticut high schools will be eligible for reduced tuition at the state’s public universities and colleges if the governor signs a bill that the Senate narrowly passed on Friday.

Connecticut would join 10 other states, including New York, that allow illegal immigrants to pay the in-state tuition rate that is available to other residents. Illegal immigrants now often pay twice as much to attend Connecticut’s taxpayer-supported colleges and universities.

Aides to Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, said she would not decide whether to sign the bill until she sees its final language, which she had not done Friday.

The Senate approved the bill, 20 to 15, after a three-hour debate in which several Republicans vigorously argued against the measure, saying that it would reward illegal activity. The debate in the House was similarly heated before the bill passed, 76 to 67, on May 17, with several Democrats joining most Republicans to vote against the measure.

“What we’re doing here today is trying to incorporate some kids who, through no fault of their own, have arrived in our communities,â€