Thread: Close vote in Kansas preserves immigrant tuition law for now

JOHN HANNAA
ssociated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. - Illegal immigrants living in Kansas can continue receiving a tuition break at state universities and colleges because of decisions made Tuesday by legislators.

The House voted 63-58 against repealing a 2004 law designating some students "without lawful immigration status" as residents when they attend universities, community colleges or vocational colleges - allowing them to pay lower tuition normally reserved for Kansas residents.
After debating an alternative proposal to get tougher on companies that hire illegal immigrants, House members voted 62-59 to send that issue back to committee.
Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, who supported repealing the immigrant tuition law, said the debate over it is probably over for the year. Senators have shown no interest in repealing the law, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has criticized the idea.
The law has so far survived a federal court challenge, but critics said it will continue to come under attack because most Kansans believe it encourages illegal immigration, which they oppose.
"This issue is not going to go away," said Rep. Becky Hutchins, R-Holton, who led the effort to repeal the law. "It'll be back next year, and it will keep coming back."
Elias Garcia, the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission's executive director, said efforts to repeal the law will continue as along as fear and uncertainty from the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks linger. But, he said, the law helps young adults who are "caught in that American dream."
"I think we can use all the college grads we can get," Garcia said. "Part of that American dream is having just a good life, which includes having a good education, a family, home ownership."
Nine states allow non-U.S. citizens to pay in-state tuition rates. In Kansas, the break can be substantial.
An undergraduate from Kansas taking 15 credit hours pays $2,412 in tuition at the University of Kansas, compared with $6,638 for a non-Kansas resident. At Seward County Community College, Kansas residents pay $40 a credit hour, compared with $63 an hour for most out-of-state students.
Last fall, 221 students qualified under the immigrant tuition law, according to the state Board of Regents. A student must have attended a Kansas high school for three years and must be seeking citizenship.
Supporters argue that students shouldn't be punished for the actions of parents who brought them illegally to the United States. Furthermore, they said, the law allows immigrants to improve their lives - and contribute more to the state's economy.
Rep. Ward Loyd, R-Garden City, quoted a biblical passage, Exodus 22:21, spelling out a law for the ancient Jews: "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt."
And Rep. Mario Goico, R-Wichita, recalled that he came to the United States from Cuba in the early 1960s, along with his younger brother and sister but without his parents, fleeing Fidel Castro's regime.
"It addresses a lot of people who came here in the same circumstances that I did," he said of the tuition law.
But Rep. Mike Kiegerl, R-Olathe, who emigrated legally from Germany in the late 1950s, said he never thought the federal or state government owed him a college education.
"So now, what do we do? We invest in people who can't get a job here, who can't legally work here, who aren't supposed to be here," he said. "We're rewarding the lawbreaking that they have done by being here now."
As endorsed last week by a House committee, the bill simply repealed the 2004 immigrant tuition law.
Rep. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, offered an alternative, increasing penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants. He argued immigrants come to the United States to find jobs and that illegal immigration won't slow until hiring does.
Holland's proposal came in two parts. First, he wanted to remove the language repealing the tuition law. Then, he wanted to substitute the tougher sanctions for employers.
The 63-58 vote was on the first part; the House never voted on the second part.
Mays said he found tougher sanctions for employers worth exploring, but other House members objected to the idea if the immigrant tuition law remained in place.
"Our tax dollars underwrite our universities. In-state tuition doesn't cover the cost of a college education," said Rep. Jason Watkins, R-Wichita. "As a business owner, you're going to throw me in jail and fine me, financially, if I try to hire the person that I just helped put through school? That's crazy."
ON THE NET
Immigrant tuition repeal: HB 2615.
On the Net:
Kansas Legislature: http://www.kslegislature.org

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 041491.htm

added to homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article1089.html