Thread: CT: Immigrant Tuition Debate, Round 2

Immigrant Tuition Debate, Round 2
By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER

Courant Staff Writer

February 22, 2008

The heated debate over whether to allow undocumented immigrants to attend public colleges and universities at the same tuition rate other Connecticut residents pay could soon reignite at the state legislature.

Under a bill introduced by state Rep. Felipe Reinoso, D- Bridgeport, Connecticut students living in the country illegally would pay in-state tuition rates at all state public colleges and universities, rather than the pricier out-of-state rates they must pay now.

A similar bill was passed by the state legislature along partisan lines last year after a hard-fought debate, but Gov M. Jodi Rell vetoed the measure.

Another bill, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney, D- New Haven, takes a more limited approach, offering in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants at only the state's community colleges. Looney, who supported the more expansive bill last year, said the pared down measure would cost less but still help many low-income families and establish a foothold on the issue.

"It seemed to me that having the bill last year be vetoed, doing something that would be somewhat more incremental is a way to renew the debate on a more limited scale," he said.

A spokesman for Rell said the governor's position would depend on what form the legislation takes.

The debate over the issue last year drew emotional arguments from both sides. Supporters of the proposal described bright students who had grown up in Connecticut but were effectively shut out from affordable higher education because their parents brought them into the country illegally as children. Opponents said in-state tuition rates would reward breaking the law and would take limited spots at state universities from legal residents. The bill passed the House and Senate without the support of a single Republican legislator.

In vetoing the bill, Rell said she sympathized with the students but could not overlook the fact that they were in the country illegally.

Reinoso, an immigrant from Peru and a longtime educator, said he would be willing to negotiate with the governor's office and make concessions if necessary to allow the bill to go forward.

Reinoso said he has worked with many bright students who come from poor families and want to continue their education but cannot afford out-of-state tuition rates. "We have the kids here. Let's provide for the opportunity for them to become good citizens, good professionals," he said. "They will be taxpayers. We all want well-educated individuals in our state, so let's provide them the opportunity."

Tuition rates for in-state students are significantly less than those charged to out-of-state students. At the four schools in the Connecticut State University System, in-state tuition will be nearly $8,000 less than out-of-state tuition during the next school year. At the University of Connecticut, in-state students will be charged nearly $15,000 less in tuition than their out-of-state counterparts.

At the state's community colleges, full-time tuition for the next school year will cost $2,640 for Connecticut residents; those paying out-of-state rates will pay $7,920 in tuition.

Looney said the scaled-back bill, which covers only community colleges, stemmed from discussions with advocates and the idea that a more limited proposal might be more palatable.

"I think the issue is still one of merit," he said. "These are, in fact, Connecticut's children, and many times these are children who all of their living memory is of life in Connecticut."

Looney said he expected some people would oppose the bill and "demagogue on this issue," but he said he hoped there would be a practical way to find a solution for Connecticut students.

State Rep. Vincent Candelora, R- North Branford, meanwhile, predicted that the new bills would meet fates similar to last year's bill.

Candelora, who opposes the bills, said he worried that changing the tuition rates would take away slots from legal residents and set a troublesome precedent.

"We're essentially inviting illegal immigrants to come into Connecticut and get educated at a cost-effective rate," he said.

Candelora said his constituents have expressed concern about illegal immigration, particularly in a troubled economy.

"I think the general feedback is, going into a recession, we have taxpayers that are willing to invest in the higher education system with the understanding that in the future their children might get the benefit of that investment," he said. "We effectively are going to give a benefit to people that aren't necessarily paying taxes into the system."

Instead, Candelora said, the legislature should focus on a comprehensive examination on how illegal immigration affects all state institutions, rather than addressing just higher education.

Contact Arielle Levin Becker at alevinbecker@courant.com.

Poll:
Should Connecticut students living in the country illegally attend public colleges at the same tuition rate other state residents pay?

Vote at www.courant.com/tuition.

Copyright © 2008, The Hartford Courant
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-il ... 8776.story

If the illegal aliens were good citizens they would be studying in the country where they are citizens not living here as illegal aliens. While the dollar savings of being a state resident is larger at the University level the per centage savings is larger at the Community College level.
Many states have flat rates for Contuinuing Education and for Online. I have suggested that be examined as a possible place of education for illegal aliens but one thing to look out for is if the costs are covered by the flat tuition rate. People who favor giving illegal aliens rights as citizens would have the students not only in state tuition they would give them "foreign student" status until they became citizens. Thus they would get the benefit of both: being resident for the cost of the benefit of education and being "foreign students" which is a status people compete for as a stepping stone to being citizens.

Very logical Richard.

Upon review, the fiscal note for Minnesota’s bill indicated there was no fiscal impact.35 However, cost estimates for other states adopting similar legislation suggests otherwise. A 2003 study by the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago estimated that the annual cost to the state of Illinois of providing in-state tuition to undocumented Chicago students would be between $3.3 million and $11.6 million.36

These figures appear in:
December 8, 2005
Report to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
The Impact of Illegal
Immigration on Minnesota

http://www.mnforsustain.org/immg_mn_sta ... _study.htm

Photo: Governor Rell
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Contact Information
Web Site: www.state.ct.us/governor
E-mail: Governor.Rell@ct.gov

Phone: (860) 566-4840
Fax: (860) 524-7396

Washington Office:
444 N. Capitol St., NW, Ste. 317
Washington 20001
Phone: (202) 347-4535
Fax: (202) 347-7151
Background Information
Party: Republican
Residence: Brookfield
Marital Status: Married (Lou)
Prev. Occupation: Public Official
Prev. Political Exp.: CT House, 1984-94; CT Lt Gov 1995-2004
Education: Old Dominion Univ.; Western CT State Univ.
Birthdate: 06/16/1946
Birthplace: Norfolk, VA
Religion: Protestant
Other Information
Term: 2nd
First Elected: 2004
Percentage in Last Election: 63%
Major Opponent: John DeStefano

Tuition deal for illegals is back

Feb 28, 2008

One would hope with the economy tanking, the state budget just under the spending cap, the projected surplus looking like it wants to become a deficit and the legislature's budget office projecting red ink for the next few fiscal years, Democratic lawmakers would be more circumspect about larding up the 2008-09 budget.

But prudence isn't in their nature. Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, wants the children of illegal immigrants attending state community colleges to pay the same tuition as legal residents. Meanwhile, Rep. Felipe Reinoso, D-Bridgeport, seeks to give that break to illegals attending any state public college and university. If the latter bill becomes law, the taxpayer-funded reward for being in this country illegally could be as high as $60,000 over four years, on top of the free education the children of illegals got from Connecticut's public schools.

This was a bad idea last year when Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed a bill similar to Rep. Reinoso's. Residents overwhelmingly opposed that measure because it would have violated the 14th Amendment and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 by giving illegals public benefits unavailable to U.S. citizens. It would have permitted illegals to enroll at a state college or university at the expense of Connecticut or U.S. citizens whose tax dollars underwrite the costs of public higher education. It would have encouraged even more illegals to migrate to Connecticut to take advantage of yet another taxpayer-funded benefit to which they never should be entitled. It would have poured more public money into the bloated higher-ed industry, thereby adding to the inflation that has seen the price of a college education in America triple in inflation-adjusted dollars in the last 25 years.

Those facts are unchanged. In vetoing the bill passed in 2007, Gov. Rell said she sympathized with the students but could not get past the fact they are in this country illegally. (Actually, they now are adults and could be sent back to their country of origin.) Gov. Rell's first responsibility is to the people and taxpayers of Connecticut. To that end, she should anticipate the Democrats sending her a tuition-break bill for illegals by ensuring her veto pen is full of ink.

http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2008/02/ ... 321368.txt