Thread: TN. Bill would give undocumented immigrants in-state tuition

Bill would give undocumented immigrants in-state tuition

Adam Tamburin, atamburin@tennessean.com 8:34 p.m. CST February 11, 2015


(Photo: File / AP)

Many undocumented immigrants going to college this year will continue to pay substantially more than their peers to stay in Tennessee, unless legislation introduced this week becomes law.

Tennessee lawmakers filed a bill this week that would offer some undocumented immigrants in-state tuition at public colleges. The move was greeted with support from immigration advocates, business leaders and educators.

But the withdrawal of a similar bill in 2014 casts some doubts over this year's prospects.

THE TENNESSEAN In-state tuition for undocumented immigrants dropped

Rep. Mark White, a Republican from Memphis who is sponsoring the legislation in the House of Representatives, said his support was rooted in his history as a teacher and a self-employed businessman. The bill would help Tennessee recoup the investment made by educating those students from kindergarten through high school, he said.

"We as a state put over $100,000 during that 13 years to educate a student," White said. "If we allow that student the opportunity to earn and pay for a college degree, we can increase our return on that investment."

Gov. Bill Haslam is reviewing the bill, spokesman David Smith said. When a similar bill was filed last year, Haslam "said the idea had some merit," Smith wrote in an email.

But that bill was pulled after its sponsor, Sen. Todd Gardenhire, decided there wasn't enough support for it to pass. At the time, Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, told The Tennessean there was "a lot of misinformation" surrounding the issue, but he added he might try again.

Under this year's bill, which Gardenhire is sponsoring in the Senate, undocumented students would get in-state tuition only if they had gone to school in Tennessee for at least three years and graduated from high school here.

Eben Cathey, spokesman for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said about 25,000 students could become eligible to pay in-state tuition if the bill becomes a law.

"That means 25,000 lawyers, nurses and engineers who become proud members of our workforce and who get to pursue their dreams," he said.

Students head out of state
Cathey said the state's current policy is siphoning qualified workers away from Tennessee. If undocumented students do want to go to public schools here, they have to pay out-of-state rates, which can be more than three times in-state rates.

Several schools in neighboring states, including Western Kentucky University, offer Tennessee's students discounted tuition, and undocumented students are eligible. Cathey said he has worked with many undocumented students who have crossed the state line to take advantage of those more affordable offers.

Jonny Garcia, 21, is one of them.

Garcia moved with his family to Tennessee from Mexico when he was 5. He graduated from McGavock High School in 2012 and realized that college in Tennessee would be too expensive for him.

"It was impossible for me," Garcia said. "When it comes time to go to college, the doors are closed."

So he enrolled at a lower rate at WKU, where he is a junior studying health care administration.

"A lot of our smartest, young undocumented folks are leaving the state searching for a fair price for university," Cathey said.

"It behooves us to make sure every member of our workforce can get a college education and pay a fair rate for school" in Tennessee.

The new bill has earned the support of the Tennessee Board of Regents, which runs most of the state's public colleges. In a statement, board spokeswoman Monica Greppin-Watts said the bill would help the state meet the goal of Haslam's "Drive to 55" plan: to ensure 55 percent of Tennesseans have a college education by 2025.

Nashville's top business leaders also support the effort. Marc Hill, chief policy officer for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, said it was "in the best interest of our region."

"These young people are already here graduating from Tennessee's high schools," he said. "Why would we place additional barriers to them becoming contributing members of society?"

White said he believes the bill has a shot.

"As a former educator, I am apolitical when it comes to doing what's right for a person's education," he said. "There should not be any roadblock in the way of a person who desires to achieve a higher education.

"That's all we're doing here is just offering an opportunity."

Staff writer Dave Boucher contributed to this report.
Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets.

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news...tion/23268619/

I live in Tennessee and I can tell you that overwhelmingly Tennesseans are opposed to amnesty and privileged treatment for illegal foreigners, How the hell is it that the Republican government is even considering this crap legislation? TENNESSEANS GET ON THE PHONE AND STOP THIS NOW.