http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650222858,00.html

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Immigrant tuition perk is targeted

By Deborah Bulkeley
Deseret Morning News

Claudia remembers her shattered hopes when she first discovered she was undocumented. She also remembers her mother's tears of joy when she found out about a state law that allows qualified undocumented students to pay in-state tuition.

"My mother's face was so excited," said Claudia, who asked not to be identified because of her immigration status. "It's a wonderful blessing to have."

Today, Claudia is an engineering student at the University of Utah. She hopes someday she will earn legal status — either through legislation or a pending application — in the state that's been her home since she was 8 years old.

But a 2002 law that made her college education possible is under attack for the fourth time in the Utah Legislature. Opponents say the law is illegal under federal law and unfair to students from other states who are U.S. citizens and who pay a higher tuition rate.

Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, is again sponsoring a measure to repeal the tuition law. HB224, likely to be heard in the House Education Committee this week, is one of several bills proposed this session that target illegal immigration.

Donnelson said he's sponsoring the bill because the tuition policy is "against federal law" and could leave the state vulnerable to a lawsuit.

Concerns about potential litigation controlled the debate last year, although the Utah Attorney General's Office has said the law is sound. Those concerns were in large part spurred by a federal lawsuit over a similar Kansas law. That lawsuit was dismissed but is now under appeal in the same court that oversees Utah.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that as many as 100,000 illegal immigrants live in Utah, and the proposed bills are at least in part brought on by frustration over the federal government's lack of action on the issue.

Rep. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, said the three bills she's planning to sponsor aren't targeting immigrants but unlawful residents. Morgan said her bills are, in part, inspired by a comprehensive package of measures Colorado passed last year.

Morgan's bills, yet to be introduced as of Friday, would create a $50,000 civil fine for forging, counterfeiting or altering identity documents. The bills also would restrict access to public benefits such as retirement, unemployment and welfare for the undocumented and would pursue federal reimbursement for state costs associated with illegal immigration.

"I would like to see our state reimbursed for some of these costs that are just increasing," Morgan said. "The other (purpose) is to send a message to prompt the federal government to act and to realize the states out West are really struggling with this issue."

Other bills Donnelson has introduced for this session include HB220, which would repeal driving privilege cards; HB230, which would add U.S. citizenship or legal resident status as a requirement for obtaining a residential child-care certificate; and HB105, which would direct the Utah Department of Public Safety to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow certain state or local law enforcement officers to perform some functions of federal immigration officers.

A bill planned by Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, would require businesses contracting with the state of Utah to participate in a federal employment eligibility program for their employees.

While he hasn't had time to review all the pending legislation, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. continues to support keeping the current law in place when it comes to the driving-privilege card for undocumented immigrants and in-state tuition for undocumented students, said Lisa Roskelley, a spokeswoman for the governor.

However, noting that bills often change as they move through the legislative process, Roskelley stopped short of saying the governor would veto any such legislation.

"We're going to have to look at the legislation," Roskelley said. "He supports the law as it currently stands."

The slate of bills proposed this session has Latino rights activists concerned.

"It's drive-by legislation," said Tony Yapias, director of Proyecto Latino de Utah. "Whatever hits, hits."

Yapias says state lawmakers may be jumping the gun on the Democrat-controlled Congress, which he believes is more likely to reach consensus on immigration reform than the Republican-controlled Congress.

Archie Archuleta, co-chairman of the bipartisan Utah Hispanic Legislative Task Force, said the group will be looking at the broad spectrum of bills impacting "documented, undocumented and Hispanics in general."

Amid all the issues, education remains a key focal point, Archuleta said, noting the task force actively will be supporting measures such as all-day kindergarten while fighting against the proposed tuition repeal.

"Here are students who have attended high school for at least three years and graduated and are good citizens looking at improving their education," Archuleta said. "They've really established residence, even though their parents may be undocumented."

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