Illegal Immigrant Tuition Gets Initial Senate OK
DENVER (AP) - Colorado Senate Democrats advanced a proposal Friday to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, an issue that triggered emotional arguments from Hispanic lawmakers who choked back tears as they urged support of the bill.
Only Democrats supported the bill when it passed on a preliminary vote, with Republicans arguing the proposal provides an incentive for immigrants to come to the U.S. illegally.
Democratic Sen. Angela Giron's voice quivered as she told lawmakers that she has relatives who are in the country illegally, a circumstance she said perhaps wouldn't resonate with her colleagues.
"And so I'm thinking, gosh, but I bet they have grandkids, and they have kids," said Giron, a first-year lawmaker from Pueblo.
This is the fifth time Colorado Democrats have tried to pass a bill giving illegal immigrants the chance to pay lower in-state tuition rates. Senators must vote one more time before the measure goes to the House, where Republicans have a one-person edge.
Sen. Shawn Mitchell, a Republican from Broomfield, said the bill is misguided because illegal immigrant students will not be able to legally get jobs in this country when they graduate from college.
"It's a false promise. It's false hope. It's the politics of gesture and of symbolism," he said.
Other Republicans questioned the proposal's legality, saying federal law states that illegal immigrants cannot receive a benefit not given to U.S. citizens.
Eleven states have laws granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, including California, Illinois, Kansas and Texas. Although there have been court challenges, the law has not been overturned in the states that have it.
Similar legislation is pending in Oregon, where the measure recently passed the Senate and is awaiting a vote in the House.
Colorado's Senate Bill 126 would allow illegal immigrant students to qualify for in-state tuition if they meet certain criteria, such as attending a Colorado high school for at least three years and graduating from a state school.
It requires that students sign an affidavit with a college saying they are trying to obtain legal residency, a provision that other states have included in their legislation.
The latest Colorado bill is different from past versions because it makes illegal immigrant students ineligible for a state stipend that in-state tuition students can use at a college of their choice. That means illegal immigrants would still pay more than others who get in-state tuition.
Republicans who opposed the bill said taxpayers would still be subsidizing college for illegal immigrants because having additional students will lead to higher operating costs -- an argument Democrats disputed.
Republicans also said the proposal would reward illegal behavior.
"We typically punish people who break the law," El Paso County Republican Sen. Bill Cadman said. "We're proving a singular exception for those who are breaking the law in this country."
Democratic Sen. Lucia Guzman said some of the debate was painful for her to hear "as an American of Mexican descent."
"I see the children of undocumented people not as illegals. The children had no choice," she said.
Democrats said having more students attend state colleges, regardless of their immigration status, would be an economic boon for the state.
Sen. Rollie Heath, a Democrat from Boulder, said it makes no sense to educate illegal immigrant students through high school only to make it difficult to attend college.
"When we take away the incentive for students, no matter what their status, to achieve their very best, we are literally undercutting the whole system of education in this state," he said.
- By Ivan Moreno, AP Writer
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
