Legislators Seek In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students in Colorado

Published January 18, 2011

Two Democratic lawmakers in Colorado announced a bill to allow certain students, children of undocumented immigrants, to pay in-state tuition at state universities and community colleges.

"I believe this is one of the great civil-rights causes of our time," Sen. Mike Johnston told Efe on Monday.

"Now we have the chance to make sure that all Colorado residents who work hard, behave as they should and graduate from high school can make a positive contribution to our state," he said.

Johnston and his colleague Angela Girón are introducing a bill that will allow those students to pay tuition at in-state rates, instead of paying as foreign students, which is anywhere from double to five times as expensive.

State law requires that parents (not students) establish their "legal residence" in Colorado 12 months before the students can be allowed to enter university paying reduced or subsidized tuition.

This works against youths who, even though they are U.S. citizens, cannot receive that benefit because their parents are undocumented.

As a result, Johnston said, "young people who study hard cannot go to university and our state loses a big chance to build a more educated labor force that can contribute to our economy."

"That's why I feel honored to be a co-sponsor, together with Sen. Giron, of this law. In fact, seeing how university doors are closed to very talented youths in my school district because their parents don't have the right documents was one of the main things that motivated me to seek this Senate seat," Johnston said.

State representative Joe Miklosi, a Democrat from Denver, proposed a similar bill last year, but it was never even debated because it lacked support even among Democrats.

According to a report by the Higher Education Access Alliance, Colorado invests some $175 million per year to educate 65,000 undocumented students who later aren't allowed into local universities.

HEAA is organizing a coalition to back Johnston and Giron.

"We will need the help of all who are concerned about social inequality in order to close the educational gap. And we have to do it, because if these young people can't go to college, their brothers and sisters, knowing they face the same fate, could end up in street gangs or on drugs, wasting their brilliance because of the obstacles we place before them," Johnston said.

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