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Arizona law has undocumented students dropping out

Changing laws have made life tougher for illegal immigrants in Arizona, including young people giving up dreams of college and better lives because they are unable to pay out-of-state tuition as required by voters.

With privately funded grants and scholarships lagging far behind the demand, some would-be students have dropped out, and others are considering a return to homelands they hardly remember in search of opportunity.

At 22, Jesus Pineda has lived half his life in Tucson. After arriving here at age 11, Pineda learned English in three months, eventually graduated from Catalina High Magnet School and started working with his dad at their family business.

He was planning to become a mechanic and studied the craft for two years at a community college until he dropped out of school in the fall of 2007 because he could not prove his legal status as required under Proposition 300, approved by voters in 2006.

Proposition 300 requires students to prove they are citizens or legal residents in the United States to qualify for in-state tuition at Arizona community colleges and universities. If they cannot, they must pay the higher out-of-state tuition fees. An in-state, part-time student can expect to pay $297 for six units while an out-of-state student will pay $504 for the same number of course units in college.

Voters approved the proposition after backers said the state should not be taking taxpayer resources and giving them to people who broke the law. The estimated 200,000 to 250,000 illegal immigrants living in Arizona at the time were costing the state substantial amounts of money, backers said.

Other states, including Colorado, Georgia and Oklahoma, also have laws denying in-state tuition benefits to students who entered the country illegally with their parents but grew up and were schooled in the state.

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Monday, August 18th, 2008

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US News - Should Colleges Enroll Illegal Immigrants?

Thanks to everyone that gave interviews.

She was a national finalist for a prestigious science award and graduated as the valedictorian of her high school class. Now, a senior at a public university in Illinois, she is poised to graduate in the spring with a degree in bioengineering and a 3.84 grade-point average. Despite her impressive academic credentials, Cecylia faces an uncertain future. A native of Poland, she has resided in the United States unlawfully for most of her 21 years. Unless federal immigration laws change and allow undocumented students like her to become legal residents, she won’t be able to put her degree to use and work as an American engineer.

For this woman and other undocumented students, who asked not to be identified by their full names for fear that they or their families could be at risk, graduation day—whether it’s high school or college—is filled with worry. While a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision entitles illegal immigrants to a free education from kindergarten through high school, neither Congress nor the courts have figured out what to do with the estimated 65,000 undocumented immigrant students who graduate from high school each year once they decide to attend college. Resolving the question of their access to higher education ultimately depends on a federal decision on whether—and how—to move the estimated 11 million-plus illegal immigrants in the United States toward proper citizenship status. A proposed federal law called the Dream Act would enable undocumented students who have attended U.S. schools and met other conditions to gain legal status and qualify for some student aid. But, so far, the meas-ure has failed to win enough support in Congress, leaving states to cobble together their own policies for handling these students in higher ed.

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Thursday, August 7th, 2008

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Immigrants face tuition ‘threat’; Some colleges barred to undocumented students

USA TODAY
BYLINE: Mary Beth Marklein
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 349 words

Some states are making it harder for illegal immigrants to attend college by denying in-state tuition benefits or banning undocumented students.

In the past two years, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Oklahoma have refused in-state tuition benefits to students who entered the USA illegally with their parents but grew up and went to school in the state. That represents a reversal from earlier this decade, when 10 states passed laws allowing in-state rates for such students.

This summer, South Carolina became the first state to bar undocumented students from all public colleges and universities.

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Monday, July 7th, 2008

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In-state tuition for illegal immigrants still hot-button topic

Source: Omaha News

BY CINDY GONZALEZ
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

After a five-year battle to get it passed, Nebraska’s 2006 law extending the resident tuition rate to certain undocumented high school graduates has been utilized by 32 students at public institutions.

That doesn’t mean that more undocumented students aren’t moving on to college.

Some may not be registered under the law, fearful of exposing their status. Some may be unaware it exists. Others are opting instead for private campuses that have more established outreach programs.

Jim Ramirez, a longtime consultant for the Omaha Public Schools, said Bellevue University and the College of St. Mary have played key roles. They offer private funds not restricted by federal rules, he said, and Spanish-speaking recruiters.

While participation in the public institutions is off to a slow start, outgoing State Sen. DiAnna Schimek of Lincoln, who made the controversial legislation her priority and held off an effort this year to repeal it, is confident the numbers will rise.

If research from states with established policies is any indication, she’s right.

Stella M. Flores of Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University has studied the effect of in-state tuition laws in the 10 states that have adopted them since 2001. Nebraska is the most recent; Texas was the first. Iowa has no such law.

Flores said undocumented students are 1.54 times more likely to enroll in college than similar students living in places without the policy.

Traditional gateway states such as Texas and California are driving the statistics. But Flores said immigrant tuition discounts could be key to the future prosperity of states like Nebraska that have younger foreign-born populations.

Nebraska demographics show more noncitizens in younger grades. About 1,675 noncitizens ages 10 through 12 lived in Nebraska in 2006, compared with about 1,300 in the 13-to- 15-year-old group.

Another way to look at the growth:

In 2000, an estimated 900 or so immigrants in Nebraska could have benefited from the in-state tuition law, according to the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs Research. That number represented 18-to-24-year-old noncitizen high school graduates who had been in Nebraska at least five years.

For 2006, the pool increased to about 2,000, said UNO census expert David Drozd.

At the time the Nebraska Legislature and other state legislatures passed tuition policies, many believed Congress was on its way to enacting the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which would have provided a citizenship path for certain graduates. That has not happened.

Rather, a public outcry over illegal immigration has increased. Nebraska’s governor and attorney general are among those who want the tuition law repealed.

“There has been a change of mood,” Flores said. “Now we’re seeing the introduction of state laws that prohibit any undocumented student from being admitted into college — much less get a discount.”

The Department of Homeland Security clarified recently that colleges don’t have to ask about immigration status unless the student was admitted on a student visa and that it is up to the institution to decide if an undocumented student can enroll. The department pointed out the ever-present risk of deportation.

Josh Bernstein of the National Immigration Law Center said that some institutions still deny admission to undocumented students. Some take a “don’t-ask, don’t-tell” stance, skipping proof of citizenship if a student graduated from a local high school.

Undocumented students can beat the high odds of dropping out of high school only to find themselves denied a chance at college by the high costs and the lack of access to federal financial aid, said Bernstein and others.

Of the 32 students registered under Nebraska’s tuition law, 28 are in the University of Nebraska system and four attend community colleges.

• Contact the writer: 444-1224, cindy.gonzalez@owh.com

Sunday, June 8th, 2008

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Tuition aid to illegal immigrants falters Patrick declines to act on behalf of graduates

BYLINE: Maria Sacchetti Globe Staff

SECTION: METRO; Pg. B1

Governor Deval Patrick has decided against taking action to allow illegal immigrants to pay resident tuition and fees at state colleges and universities this fall, an administration official said yesterday, crushing advocates who were counting on the governor to deliver on a pledge to support the students.

Earlier this year, Patrick said he was considering ways to offer illegal immigrants in-state rates, such as issuing a regulation, adding that it would be “the right thing to do.”

The governor declined to comment yesterday, but an administration source who spoke on condition of anonymity said Patrick decided that there were “significant legal impediments” to that approach. The governor will still support legislation on the matter, but on Beacon Hill the issue is widely viewed as dead this session.

The decision is a blow to church pastors, school counselors, and advocates from Lawrence to Springfield, who had pressured Patrick to act before high school graduations in the next few weeks. Now several hundred seniors are again facing college tuition and fees that are more than double the resident rates, as high as $21,900 a year.

“This would be slamming the door on hundreds of students who are graduating this year,” said Loren McArthur, staff director of the Merrimack Valley Project, a group of churches, labor unions, and others who sent Patrick 300 letters this month urging him to act now. “If this is his decision, it’s unfortunate. But we will be urging him to reconsider.”

Advocates had hoped that Patrick, who often touts his own background as a civil rights advocate whose life was transformed by education, would build support for a relatively small group of students. The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation estimated that if students could pay in-state rates, as many as 600 illegal immigrants would enroll in college a year, out of 160,000 in the public system, bringing in about $2.5 million in tuition and fees. The group estimated that only about 100 such students were enrolled in 2006.

“We had hoped that the governor would honor his commitments and his promises to make education access fair for all Massachusetts students,” said Shuya Ohno, spokesman for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. “He understood that it was a question of fairness. What he couldn’t articulate is that it actually makes money for the state.”

In recent weeks, hundreds of supporters were intensifying pressure on Patrick, peppering him with calls and letters on behalf of the students. Some wanted Patrick to sign an executive order allowing students to pay in-state rates. Others urged the Board of Higher Education to change its regulations to allow it. Patrick considered that option, but the board said it did not have that authority, said Eileen O’Connor, a board spokeswoman.

The push resurrected a debate that erupted on Beacon Hill two years ago and mirrored a national tug-of-war on the issue. Opponents say the state should not make concessions for illegal immigrants, while advocates say charging them prohibitive rates for college wastes the money that the state and communities have spent on their schooling. A 1982 Supreme Court ruling mandates that public schools educate all children through high school, but did not address what to do about college.

Nationally, 10 states have passed laws allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition, including California, Texas, and Utah.

In 2005, the state Senate passed a measure that would have granted resident tuition and fees to illegal immigrants who have been here for at least three years, but it failed in the House.

Today, lawmakers and others say, the legislation faces even higher hurdles. The state Republican Party has vowed to oppose it; yesterday party spokesman Barney Keller called the plan ridiculous and discriminatory against US citizens from other states who are forced to pay out-of-state rates.

Representative Marie P. St. Fleur, Democrat of Boston and a key sponsor, said that even supportive lawmakers are reluctant to pass any legislation until Congress decides what to do with the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. She had hoped that Patrick and the Board of Higher Education would find a temporary solution for students who are about to graduate.

“I’m disappointed in learning that it could not be done,” said St. Fleur, adding that she and other lawmakers have asked to meet with the governor on this issue. “I know that at this time there is insufficient support in the House in order to move the agenda forward, particularly in this session.”

In living rooms across Massachusetts in recent weeks, illegal immigrants who are high school seniors have been opening college acceptance letters with mixed feelings. Many have been here for years, are fluent in English, and consider themselves American, even if they are not.

Laura, a 17-year-old student from Colombia who spoke on condition that her last name be withheld, beamed at the word congratulations on her acceptance letter from Salem State in her family’s apartment in an East Boston three-decker this week. Her parents brought her here five years ago after their business went bankrupt and to flee scenes of war.

In school, she quickly learned English, took Advanced Placement classes, and earned A’s and B’s on her report card. But non-resident tuition and fees at Salem State cost $12,410 a year, double the in-state rate and more than she can afford.

“It’s really sad and really discouraging,” Laura said.

Priscilla, a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant from Brazil who is also graduating this year, was accepted to a private college, but it will cost her $24,000 a year. She is considering community college, but that is a stretch, too. Nonresidents pay an average of $10,380 a year, more than double the cost for residents.

“I know people are very disappointed,” she said of the inaction so far. “I understand that it’s hard for [Patrick], but I didn’t choose to come here.”

Maria Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

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