Colorado illegal immigrants will get college aid in N.M.
By The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 07/16/2007 01:32:38 AM MDT


At least 10 illegal immigrants from Colorado will get to attend classes at the University of New Mexico this fall, with many not having to pay for tuition or books.

A new Colorado law prohibits state colleges from providing in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.

In New Mexico, the state is barred from denying education benefits based on immigration status, said Terry Babbitt, director of admissions for the University of New Mexico.

While New Mexico's state financial aid is intended for residents, Poudre High School counselor Isabel Thacker in Colorado found a way for her students to receive in-state tuition, plus scholarships to cover it.

"Students can enroll for up to six credit hours and get the in-state rate (at UNM)," said Alex Gonzalez, associate director of the scholarship office at UNM. "They can then go across the street to Central New Mexico Community College and enroll for another six hours and continue to pay the UNM in-state tuition rate. They then are counted as full-time UNM students."

A full year of tuition at UNM, 12 credit hours per semester, costs $4,570.80, Gonzalez said. An institutional scholarship available to illegal immigrants covers $5,000 of their tuition and book expenses.

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