Wed February 20, 2008
Does immigration law unfairly affect state students?
By Susan Simpson
Staff Writer

STILLWATER — Oklahoma's immigration law unfairly punishes some of the state's greatest assets: young people with the ability and desire to gain a college education, a University of Houston law professor said Tuesday.

The law that went into effect Nov. 1 makes it harder for illegal immigrants to qualify for in-state college tuition and bars them from state scholarships.

Michael Olivas said that is unfair because it targets the children of parents who brought them here illegally. Some teens do not know they are illegal until they are asked for proof of residency when they apply to college.

"You can't simply punish the kids in hopes that their parents will go home,â€