DENVER—Undocumented immigrants are closer to receiving the benefit of in-state tuition, after the proposal to make it happen was approved Thursday by a state Senate committee.
Lawmakers and nearly two dozen Colorado residents discussed the measure (Senate Bill 170) for almost five hours before approving it 5-3 on a party-line vote, with Republicans voting no. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Chris Romer, now goes to a vote in the full Senate.
“For me, this is a moral issue, that we should not shackle the future of children because of the sins of their fathers,” said Senate President Peter Groff.
One of the Republicans who opposed the bill, Sen. Keith King, said it violates federal regulations barring undocumented immigrants from benefits U.S. citizens can’t receive. In other words, according to federal law, if an undocumented immigrant gets in-state tuition, so should any U.S. citizen outside of Colorado.
Starting in 2001, legislation granting in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants has been approved in 10 states—California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New York, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, Oklahoma and Texas.
In some cases, those efforts have been met with attempts to repeal the law. And in California, a lawsuit is pending from 42 out-of-state students who say they were discriminated against because they paid more for tuition than undocumented students.
This is the fourth time Colorado has tried to give the lower-cost in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants, but supporters say they have a better chance of passing it this time because they have the support of the business community.
Romer has tweaked the bill to gain support from other lawmakers, adding a requirement that students sign an affidavit saying they are seeking legal status, and eliminating a state subsidy of up to $2,700 that other students receive. Romer said he cut the subsidy from the bill with “great sadness.”
Depending on the school, in-state tuition in Colorado could cost about $2,340, as opposed to $7,040 for out-of-state students.
Under the bill, students would qualify if they’ve been in a Colorado high school for three years and sign up for college within five years of graduation or of getting a General Equivalency Diploma.
Student Cecilia Chavez, 17, told lawmakers she thought the bill was about education, not immigration.
“How could you treat someone that has lived all their lives in Colorado as nonresidents of the state?” she asked.
King’s several attempts to amend the bill were unsuccessful, including a proposal that would have required students to promise to sign up for military service to receive the tuition benefit.
King also said the bill doesn’t address the issue of making the students legal residents.
“I think your bill in many ways fosters false hope,” he said. King said the students might not get jobs after they graduate.
“It doesn’t matter whether they have a four-year degree or not. They’re going to be deported,” King said.
Federal law requires states to provide everyone education through high school regardless of legal status. Dick Monfort, co-owner of the Colorado Rockies and chairman of the board of trustees at the University of Northern Colorado, said it makes no sense to encourage students to work hard to get to college and then take away financial assistance when they graduate from high school.
He said the state would benefit from an educated work force and colleges would get more revenue from additional students.
“I don’t see how this is not a win situation for the state of Colorado,” he said.
Members of the Colorado Veterans Alliance, an advocacy group for post-Sept. 11 soldiers, said they had gone to the Capitol to testify against the bill. They changed their minds when Education Committee Chairman Bob Bacon, a Fort Collins senator, proposed the idea of including veterans in the bill, so those who have recently moved to Colorado could receive in-state tuition.
Lawmakers said they would make the amendment later, or create a separate bill for veterans.
