http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_4134969

Article Last Updated: 8/04/2006 10:14 AM


Support slipping for in-state tuition benefits for immigrant students
The Legislature: Popular anger over the benefit for undocumented students may turn friends into foes
By Jennifer W. Sanchez
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune

Four years ago, Utah state Rep. Karen Morgan voted for a bill allowing undocumented students to pay in-state college tuition.

Now, in a sign of the changing political climate, the Democrat said she would vote to repeal the law. She also said she is looking into introducing a bill similar to that signed into law in Colorado this week that requires applicants for public services to prove they are legally in the United States.

So why is a Democrat - a member of a party historically known for serving poor and minority communities - taking on and supporting anti-illegal immigration legislation?

It's simple: Congress isn't doing anything and now has "put the issue aside," so it's up to states to figure it out, Morgan said. She also said she consistently receives phone calls and e-mails from constituents about the lack of security on the U.S.-Mexico border and about undocumented families driving up the cost of public services.

Morgan, who represents the suburb of Cottonwood Heights, said "most" of her constituents want her to support anti-illegal immigration bills, such as repealing the in-state tuition law. In 2005, Morgan voted to replace state driver licenses with "driving privilege cards" for undocumented immigrants living in Utah.

"That's what my constituents wanted me to do," said Morgan, a six-year lawmaker who's running for re-election.

A recent Salt Lake Tribune poll found that about 70 percent of Utah voters support repealing the in-state tuition law.

Morgan said she learned about the Colorado law that was sponsored by a Democratic-majority state House of Representatives during a party leadership meeting in July in Denver. (In Colorado, state officials estimated that about 5 percent of public-assistance recipients are undocumented immigrants, according to a Denver Post story.)

When she returned to Utah, Morgan asked Utah officials to research the law and see if it would be "feasible in Utah."

"I'm looking into the issue," Morgan said Thursday. "I can't consider sponsoring a bill until I understand it."

In the Utah Legislature, Republicans outnumber Democrats 3 to 1. Republican lawmakers so far have been the ones to sponsor anti-illegal immigration legislation.

Other Democratic lawmakers said they need to learn more about the Colorado laws before deciding on whether to support similar bills in Utah.

"I definitely think it's an idea worth considering," said Rep. Carol Moss, D-Holladay.

But Moss and Rep. Mark Wheatley, D-Murray, said they would not support a bill to repeal the in-state tuition law that was used by fewer than 200 students last year. Under the law, undocumented students must spend three years at a Utah high school and graduate from a state high school.

Besides, Moss and Wheatley said they haven't been contacted by many constituents about immigration.

Wheatley said he gets calls about education, health care and public safety.

"In my neighborhood, it's about safe neighborhoods, it's about the crime rate," he said.

In Utah, there are about 268,000 Latinos - making up 11 percent of the state's population. Of them, about 30 percent are undocumented immigrants, according to the U.S. census estimates.

jsanchez@sltrib.com