Legislator wants probe of college that gives tuition breaks to illegal immigrants

Gannett News Service
October 26, 2010
By SCOTT BROOM
ROCKVILLE, MD

A state legislator from Baltimore is demanding an immediate investigation of a community college here for giving tuition breaks to illegal immigrants.

It's a practice Rockville-based Montgomery College does not deny, and Republican Del. Pat McDonough says that is reason enough for state and federal prosecutors to aggressively go after the school.

"I think it's a serious violation of both federal and state law by public officials," McDonough said Tuesday.

School officials say they offer discounted in-county tuition rates to any student who can prove residency in Montgomery County, a Washington suburb, and who has graduated from a county high school after attending for at least three years regardless of immigration status.

"Immigration status does not matter for admission to Montgomery College," spokesman Brett Eaton said.

Eaton said the college does not apply for state-financed reimbursement for such students, so the practice is legal.

McDonough calls the explanation nonsense.

He is adamantly demanding that Maryland's state prosecutor investigate.

County residents attend Montgomery College for $107 a credit hour. Nonresidents pay $299.

McDonough says undocumented students are welcome to attend the college but not for a reduced rate reserved for legal residents.

College officials say they are following a policy of making education as accessible as possible to all local residents, regardless of immigration status.

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